Sleeping Terrors and Pretty Dreams
by FavoriteCharacter
Summary: Dayne never knew demons existed until she ran into Kurama, and now she's being deliberately hunted. She has a useless talent of stopping everything to dream, and she can't stand Kurama's polite mask, despite her own. As if life could get any harder?
1. Visitors

**I want to thank BlackMoonWhiteSky before I actually start posting chapters. The idea of the title "Flowers Can Grow In Even the Stoniest of Hearts" totally grabbed my attention. I will admit, I even love it, so I totally wanted to post it up here. The only reason I'm not using it is because the length is a little awkward, but I want to thank you anyways, BlackMoonWhiteSky, because I really did like the title!**

**And now, for your favorite part of bold print: I do not own YYH.**

**Enjoy this ****short**** chapter (a teaser, I know) posted to take place a few months after the end of the Hiei/Sagaku story =]**

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* * *

I Reckon**

_ Once upon a time, there was a perfect girl…she was smarter than almost all of her peers, just as pretty as most of them, lived in a beautiful house with loving parents…and just like all other girls in the district, had a keen interest in Shuichi Minamino._

Dayne was not quite that girl. She was very smart – she had the second highest scores in her private, all-girl school, when she had been in high school. Now, she was going to a university. She was even reasonably pretty, although she would never be a model. Her house was lovely, with pretty vines climbing up the trellises…but her loving parents? Really, it was just her loving dad. Her mom had died four years ago. Loving parents had then turned into loving-but-slightly-distant father. And, to be fair, she didn't even know who Shuichi Minamino was. The only reason she pretended to have a keen interest in him while in high school was because the other girls got all weird if she admitted she'd never even seen the man. When she actually met him, she found she did not really enjoy his company at all.

Regardless of her perfect (almost) life, Dayne was a hopeless daydreamer. Not that she had princess-prince fantasies, or anything so cliché, she just…dreamed. About everything. In class, sitting and waiting for her professor to finish his lecture on some mathematics formula she would learn later on her own, she dreamed about how the reunion would go that night.

_ "Well, look-ee here, boys!" Uncle Riley, who wasn't really her uncle, said as he ruffled her hair before giving her a giant hug. "Looks as though little Ippin is all grown up!"_

_ "It's nice to see you again, pip." Jonathan, Riley's oldest son, would say as he shook her hand. He called her pip instead of Ippin because he liked the way it sounded. _

_ "It's nice to see you all again, too." Dayne bowed her head, covering her smile. She loved her dad's best friend and his sons. They were all perfect, western gentlemen, with the oddest quirks._

* * *

The airport was crowded beyond belief, and Dayne stayed against the wall, eying everyone coolly lest someone dared bump into her. No one did, and when the plane from Georgia – an odd name for a place – landed, she hurried forward to meet the people disembarking. She was cut off by someone else, loud and burly with a mop of bright orange curls.

"Saga! Shrimp!" He shouted loudly, stepping on her foot. She tugged back, her lips twisting distastefully.

"You'll have to ignore him, I'm afraid. I'll apologize in his stead." Someone said in her ear. Dayne turned to face the person speaking to her, having just enough time to glimpse someone slightly taller than herself before she was knocked over.

"Pip!" Jonathan rumbled in his deep voice, giving her a wet kiss on her cheek.

"No fair, I wanted first kiss!" Benjamin pushed his older brother aside, and gave Dayne's other cheek a wet kiss as well.

"Boys, don't harass her! If we're going to be here for any amount of time you have to treat her with respect!" Uncle Riley laughed. They were speaking English, as they frequently did, although they all spoke Japanese fluently as well. "Whew, well look-ee how ye've turned out, dahlin'!" He whistled, speaking in the harsh southern accent. Dayne had lost her accent a long time ago, but on very rare occasions certain words would pop out. It happened more frequently with these fellows about.

"Welcome back to Japan, Uncle." Dayne bowed, her shoulder-length black hair swinging forward. "Please, let's go get your bags and I'll bring you to go see Dad." When she straightened, all three of them were grinning at her goofily.

"Aw, now dahlin' ye know we don't hold on all tha' pomp an' cer-e-mony." Uncle Riley ruffled her hair. "Come on, Ippin, let's get on home."

Dayne smiled politely, and beckoned them to follow her to the baggage claim. She missed the speculative looks she was getting from the four people who had been reunited only a few inches from them.

"How come you don't talk like that, Saga?" Kuwabara turned to his friend stupidly. She grinned at him, her many piercings glinting with the jewelry she wore like a blanket.

"Ah, now, don't ye be frettin'! I der say I spen' some good tim's in da back-woods, too!" She tried to mimic the southern accents, but failed horribly.

"It's good to see you again, really. I'm glad you're both back safe." Kurama hugged them both, startled when he realized something – the jacket she was bundled up in was hiding something from view. "Are you…pregnant?" He asked, surprised beyond belief.

"Hn." Hiei wrapped an arm around the girl protectively, and Kuwabara let out a loud whoop.

"Just wait until I tell Yukina and Little Pinky the good news! Pinky's got a playmate!"

"When is it due?" Kurama asked curiously, leading the group away as more people began to glare in their direction. The two of them had been away from home for at least six months, off in America again as Sagaku tried to do some recon work on Ned and Sam's research. They had actually made a bit of headway.

"Theoretically in two months. Maybe a little longer, since I'm not as well proportioned as most Hanshoku." Sagaku shrugged, and then began firing questions about everything that had happened in their absence. They quickly forgot about the group that had spoken in such weird accents, except for Kurama. He was kind of curious about the girl's icy demeanor. She had looked at him with those electric blue eyes like she meant for him to freeze over, all because Kuwabara had bowled her over, albeit quite rudely.


	2. Exams

**I'm probably going to post this one just a tad slower than I did my other story, mostly because I'm no where near as far in writing this one as I was with the Hiei story. But as soon as I get a little further along I'll start posting chapters like crazy again :)**

**Disclaimer: I know everyone loves seeing this all over this place just as much as I love typing it. I really don't own YYH (whenever I type that I automatically his caps lock before the 'H.' I'm continuously going back and fixing it. Fun fact.)**

**Enjoy chapter 2!**

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* * *

Twisting Dreams**

"So Dayne, what're you studying now?" Jonathan leaned forward in his seat to try to talk to Dayne as she focused on the road. She was a nervous driver, although she hid it well behind her calm façade.

"Ornithology," Dayne admitted. She knew that in about two seconds she would have to make a left, but no one was letting her switch lanes…

"Teeth?" Jonathan let out a burst of startled laughter. His father glanced back with a knowing grin at Benjamin. The younger boy smacked his brother's arm, returning his father's grin. Sure, Jonathan was a looker…but he certainly wasn't a learner.

"Ornithology is birds, you dimwit." Benjamin scolded his brother. The two began to bicker, with Uncle Riley trying to keep the peace. Dayne ignored them and focused on the road, intent on being back home. She had an exam in her Philosophy class the next day, and she would love to be able to study for it.

_

* * *

"…I apologize for him." The taller figure told Dayne, his hand lightly holding on to her elbow to keep her steady. Dayne smiled tightly at him, removing her arm from his grip._

_ "I'm fine. Thank you for the apology." She said, turning away from him. It was as she turned that she saw it – the dark that seemed to surround him. It made her blink, but when she turned back to examine him, he was gone, leaving only a green leaf on the ground, an odd sight in the dead of winter. _

Dayne shook her head, clearing the odd dream from her mind as she returned to reading about her least favorite philosopher – Marx. He had, after all, been a philosopher of sorts. And her professor was absolutely obsessed with him, sure he had the right of things. Humans were, essentially, evil and they needed to be governed with strict force. Regardless of how she felt about Marx, though, she wanted to ace the class. This was the last exam in the class, and she was determined to score as highly on it as she had on the other four tests. She only had one more year of college after this, and so far she hadn't gotten a single grade below a 92%, and she wanted to keep it that way no matter what it took.

"Don't tell me you're going to be studying the entire time we're here." Jonathan complained, stretching out over her bed. He had long legs, and a fit, toned body that he showed off whenever he had the chance. He had a deep tan from working out in the fields all day, and his hair had been sun-bleached into a beautiful, honey-blonde color. His eyes were blue, but they were a pale blue in comparison to hers.

"All of my exams take place this week. After that I have a month off before the next semester." Dayne said lightly, trying to ignore his presence on her bed. She hated when people used her bed.

"Well, good. Your dad offered your services to cater to me and Benjy." He stretched out even further. She winced delicately, making sure he didn't see the movement.

"As soon as this week is over." She promised politely, and then returned to studying. Jonathan stayed laying on the bed, his head turned to look at Dayne. As always, she was cool and composed. He smirked, wondering if it would be a challenge. They had basically grown up together, both having spent much time at the other's house since they were little. He knew a lot about her, and she was certainly pretty enough. No one in their right mind would mind taking the tall, willowy girl as a wife. Plus, it's not like anyone else would show an interest in her. She was too icy. He could get around that, though.

* * *

Dayne finished the exam, and skimmed over the questions. Everything looked good. She stood, sliding out of the seat, and put the answer sheet and the test packet in the proper piles, bowing to her professor as she left the room. Outside, she breathed in a sigh of relief. One test down, and one more class for the day. She had another test the next day, but she would have plenty of time to study.

_Dayne was sitting on the bench, wrapping her heavy jacket more firmly around her. Something nearby didn't feel right – there was too much heat. It was a little dark, but more in the sense of night time than something unnatural. When the heat and darkness finally cleared, there were two people standing nearby, gesturing and talking to each other. The shorter one didn't use any expressions whatsoever, but the taller one was grinning broadly and he clapped the shorter one on the shoulder. There were green leaves sprouting out of his body._

With a surprised gasp, Dayne shook her head and tightened the jacket and scarf around herself. It had been a while before her mind had taken her to weird places like that. When she looked around where she was sitting, she almost cracked a grin. The shorter man and the taller one she had been dreaming about were standing about twenty yards away, talking to each other. She had probably been staring at them when she dreamed.

Kurama peeked out of the corner of his eye again, pleasantly surprised to see the girl was still there. She was staring up at the bare branches of the tree above her as if it were speaking to her. He grinned, and then realized Hiei was staring at him oddly.

"I'm sorry," Kurama apologized to his friend, "I've just been meaning to talk to that girl. I was surprised to see her here."

"Hn. The girl from last night." Hiei observed, his crimson eyes darting over to the black-haired girl.

"Indeed. As I was saying, though, I would be happy to be godfather to the child. I'm honored that you and Sagaku chose me. I'm sure Yukina will be just as pleased to find she is godmother." Kurama smiled kindly at his shorter friend. Hiei had broken the news to the little koorime that he was her brother right before Sagaku and he had left for America. Yukina had cried so much for joy that no one had known what to say.

_

* * *

Vines twisted around Dayne's body, tickling my her hair as they gingerly lifted her off the ground. It was frozen and hard, but mostly it was just slippery. Dayne had hurt her wrist and ankle badly on her right side when she fell, and now her many pages of written dreams were scattered. Some of them were sinking through the ice, falling to a place where she couldn't reach._

"Pip, pay attention!" Jonathan was leaning into her face, snapping his fingers. "We want to watch a movie. Your dad said to watch it up here so he and my dad can watch the game together." He climbed onto her bed, sitting a little too close to her as usual. Her American friends didn't understand personal space the way her Japanese friends did. It caused some problems.

"So what movie do you want to watch?" Benjamin, a little more aware of how Dayne felt, sat on the floor by her bed.

"I'm sorry, but I need to keep studying." She held up her Ancient Culture book with an apologetic grin, even if she was mentally wishing Jonathan would fall off.

"Looked more like you were dreaming to me." Jonathan plucked the book from her grip, sitting on it firmly as he dug through the few movies she kept on her dresser, beside the small television and DVD set.

"Seriously, Jonathan, I need to study." She was struggling not to sound angry, but the idea of him _sitting_ on her book was absolutely infuriating.

"Chillax, pip. You need to take a break." Jonathan ignored her chilling stare, and reached across her to turn out the light as the movie started. She got up and stalked out of the room, leaving them to watch the movie alone.


	3. Stalking

**La de da, still don't own YYH. Nyeh.**

**So I'm getting pretty far along with the writing, thus you guys get a second short chapter for the day =D**

**I feel like more happens in this story, but it's slower to write. I'm so used to Sagaku that it's hard to switch tracks LoL.**

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* * *

Coincidence?**

_Sunlight filtered weakly through the empty branches, doing nothing to warm her. It was outside her house that she was sitting, tracing a design in the snow with her numb fingers. Uncle Riley was leaning against the window, frowning thoughtfully as he watched her. When a leaf, so brightly green that it stood out like a beacon, floated to the ground beside her, his look turned to one of pure, unadulterated hatred. He stomped to the door, flinging it open heavily, as he stalked outside in her direction. Dayne looked around in confusion, trying to find what he was so furious at. There was nothing around her._

It was after her Culture's exam, but Dayne hadn't wanted to go home. She wasn't really angry at Jonathan anymore, since she was sure to get a hundred on that particular exam, but she wasn't looking forward to sitting between him and Benjamin at the dinner table again. He was purposely trying to get under her skin, worse than he used to when they were little. It was like a stupid game of his, to see how long she could keep her temper under check. The only time she had really exploded on him was when he let her little kitten outside. The little kitten never made it back inside, and she had screamed at him, tears streaming down her face as he looked stricken. He had come to her the next day, with a new kitten, but she had refused it. She wasn't going to replace Wolf, her kitten, that quickly.

Now, it seemed that Jonathan was up to his old games. It was aggravating. She just wanted to focus on her studies – it was only for another two days. All she had left was her Aviary Biology exam, and her Organic Chemistry exam. Neither one would be fun.

"Excuse me," a voice said from above her, "do you mind if I have a seat?"

"Sure, I'm sorry." She said, apologizing automatically for taking up too much of the bench. She scooted to the side, and the person sat down.

"I'm Shuichi. May I ask your name?" The voice asked pleasantly. Dayne turned, surprised. She hadn't been aware he actually wanted to converse with her, she just thought he wanted to sit.

"My name is Dayne. Dayne Ippin." She took the hand he offered and shook it politely before letting go. His eyes were as bright green as the leaves she kept dreaming about, although they didn't seem to hold the same symbolic meaning. His hair was thick and red, falling all about his simple black jacket. He had a light, curious smile on his lips.

"Dayne." He tried out her name. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You too." She mumbled politely, but she was already beginning to lose interest in talking to the polite stranger, her gaze wandering to the tree. Sure enough, a dream was beginning to overtake her and then –

"So what do you study here?" He interrupted the flow of her subconscious, his face a pleasant mask.

"Ornithology, with a minor in Cultural Anthropology." Dayne answered, and then stood up. "If you'll excuse me…"

"Shuichi." He supplied for her again, standing up as well.

"If you'll excuse me Shuichi, I really should be heading home." With a bland, well-practiced smile, the blue-eyed girl dodged away as she strode for the nearest parking lot. Kurama shook his head, wishing Hiei were here with his Jagan eye. There was something in that girl's head, almost tangible…but he didn't know what it was. It was going to drive him nuts. Unfortunately, with Sagaku seven months pregnant, Hiei had shifted his priorities. Well, unfortunate for Kurama's curiosity, anyways.

His eyes followed her, watching her sleek, perfectly parted black hair tug gently in the wind and the bright scarf around her neck twisted playfully. Her back faded quickly, though, and he soon found himself alone in his thoughts, wondering what it was about her that was digging at him so fiercely.

* * *

Dayne walked out of her last exam of the semester, breathing a sigh of relief. Organic Chemistry had not been a joke class by any means. The redheaded boy was waiting, standing by the bench for her as he had been the day before.

"How was your last exam?" He asked pleasantly. Inside, Dayne rolled her eyes. He was too polite, and she knew it was a mask for something – after all, she played the same game. She kept her cool and stayed as polite as she possibly could, hiding that sometimes she just wanted to slap people and their silly ideas and thoughtless actions.

"It went well. Yours?" She answered, mildly.

"It went well as well. Would you like to go celebrate the end of the semester?" He asked her, leaning forward.

"No thank you. I have guests to entertain at home." And with that, she smiled meaninglessly at him, and walked away. Kurama leaned back against the tree, smiling. He was getting nowhere with her. She was as helplessly polite as he was.

* * *

"Come on, pip, let's go." Jonathan demanded, standing in front of her bedroom. She sighed, and ran the comb through her hair one more time. He was adamant on going to the park, despite the cold weather. Benjamin was opting out, in favor of going to the movies with their dads.

"Alright, I'm coming." Dayne stepped out of the room, tugging her jacket more firmly around her. Stepping outside was going to be like stepping into an icicle. It had snowed again, right after she got back from her exams.

Jonathan blathered as they walked slowly through the park. Dayne paid him no heed. Her mind was elsewhere.

_Shuichi walked next to Dayne, his usually mildly interested eyes darting around alertly. Dayne ignored his tension, stopping to fix her jacket. Jonathan was standing there, in front of her, and he reached forward to help. Shuichi said something angry, something she didn't quite check, and Jonathan met his gaze, baring his teeth. They shone white in his tan face. Dayne didn't bother listening to them, bending down to pet a small, silver fox instead. Oddly, it had two tails._

"So that's what I plan on doing. One more year with dad, and then I'm going to get my own property. No more farming the land for me." Jonathan finished what he was saying, grinning broadly at Dayne as she focused back on the real world. Her dreams had gotten strange, lately.

"I'm sure it will all work out very well for you." She said politely to hide the fact that she hadn't really been listening.

"Yeah, but you have to be there when I get my own place! I want you to see it!" He swung his arm around shoulder, laughing good-naturedly as she peeled it off and let it drop to his side. Her boundaries were as stiff as ever. He heard someone talking, and peered forward. Dayne heard the person as well, but she didn't look around. For one thing, she was pretty sure she recognized the polite tone, and for another thing, staring was rude.

"Dayne!" The person said, startled when he came across the two of them. Dayne raised her intense blue eyes, meeting the green eyes of Shuichi.

"Shuichi, it's a pleasant surprise to meet you out here. This is my cousin, Jonathan." She greeted him and introduced Jonathan who started at her words. He had been busy eying the redhead.

"I'm not really her cousin." He declared, stepping closer to her. She kept her face passive. "Who were you talking to, anyways?" Jonathan asked, craning his neck as he looked around.

"My mother," Kurama answered, holding up his cell phone, "I call her every day to see how she is doing, if I am able." Jonathan snorted, as if calling a mother was a silly thing to do. His parents were divorced, and as far as he was concerned, his mother was a useless twit. Dayne's face merely formed a politely interested mask. "Where are you guys off to?" The redhead asked.

"We're just walking around the park." Dayne answered. Now she did step away from Jonathan, as he tried to inch even closer.

"Do you mind if I join you?" He asked.

"Actually – "

"It would be lovely." Dayne interrupted Jonathan's answer. She certainly didn't want to be stuck alone with him, not when he was acting as he was.


	4. Seeing Demons

**YYH = not mine, sadly enough.**

**I'm sorry for the mad short chapters, but once it starts getting to the action part I'll start making them longer =] Until then, I'm trying to break up the monotony =P**

**Enjoy this chapter of stalking, forgetting, and first attacks!**

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* * *

An Oddity Not Explained**

Kurama kept a polite conversation running, although he found himself getting increasingly irritated with the boy who insisted on walking between him and Dayne. Jonathan was ridiculously jealous, and acting childishly. Kurama narrowed his eyes, as he turned away for a second. There was something a little bit off about the boy as well. It was different than what was off about Dayne – with her, it was something mild, a curiosity. With Jonathan, it was the instinct to fight him off. He smelt like danger, regardless of his open face.

As if to prove the misgivings Kurama was having, they had just turned a corner on the sidewalk, rounding about some shrubbery, when his skin began tingling. There was a demon nearby.

_The brown, frozen shrubbery rattled a warning as Dayne turned the corner, fierce stems pricking against her dangerously. There was a hissing noise coming from ahead, the sound of a snake. Jonathan turned towards it, a hesitant smile forming on his face. Shuichi, however, frowned, his hand reaching to tug at his hair. Dayne looked at the two of them curiously, wondering what the problem was, but when some hit her in the stomach she gave up her curiosity. Her breath had left her body in one, heavy whoosh, and now she was staring at a giant snake. There were two shouts, one greeting the snake, the other threatening it. She didn't have time to decipher who shouted what._

Dayne shivered, shaking her head to relieve the short dream. Kurama watched her from the corner of her eye, wondering if that had to do with the feeling she was giving off, the one that made him so curious. The vibe that there was something there had gotten stronger when she zoned out. Jonathan was in the process of telling some story about when he had gotten in a fight with two other boys on the farm next door, for trying to steal some of their crops. He had been telling stories about one fight after another, one important figure after another. But he was tuning him out, now. There was a demon nearby, and he didn't know what to do.

"I think I want to go home and warm up." Dayne interrupted his thoughts and Jonathan's story. "Shuichi, would you like to join us for some tea?" She asked politely. He smiled at her and accepted just as politely. He was waiting for the demon though, hoping they got out of the park soon enough. Most of the rebels had been wiped out, due mainly to Hiei and Sagaku, but one or two still lingered. He didn't want to kill a demon in front of two humans, especially since he was trying to figure Dayne out still. Erasing her memory would make it a little harder to talk to her.

Whatever demon he had been sensing didn't approach them as they hurried out of the park. It was another demon, instead, one that seemingly popped out of nowhere.

"Hungry," the bony creature hissed, lunging at the three of them. Kurama whipped his rose out, eyes dodging to each of the two humans. Jonathan had jumped back and was staring at the demon with a grossed out look of fascination. Dayne's eyes looked glazed over, and she wasn't moving. With a mild curse he kept in his head, Kurama flicked his rose and it started to elongate.

_The tall, silver-haired man with fox-like appendages was twisting the green whip back and forth with apparent skill. His gold eyes were narrowed, but his body was relaxed. His opponent was oddly purple, with white, bone-like structures sticking out of his skin. His ribs were sticking out, but he sucked in a deep breath, releasing a white peg at her. The fox-man's whip snapped the peg out of the air, and then spun it right back at the purple beast. The green weapon twisted around his throat, bringing him slowly to his knees, and then fire with eyes shining dangerously burned him. He was gone, leaving four beings in a relatively empty place, anger, fear, and confusion oddly prevalent…_

"What do you mean you can't tell me? Eff you then, I'm not going with you!" Jonathan was snapping at Shuichi, and another figure who had appeared at some point during her dream. The bony man was gone, and Dayne frowned as she looked around. She hadn't been dreaming that long, where did he disappear off to?

"Hn. Baka ningen, protesting is futile." Dayne recognized the speaker as one of Shuichi's friends, the one who had been talking to him at school only a few days ago.

"I must have zoned out," Dayne cut off whatever Jonathan was opening his mouth to say, "Does someone mind explaining to me? And I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." She spoke to the shorter man, with thick, spiky black hair. He glared at her.

"I'm sorry, Dayne, but we need to make sure you both are okay. Please come with us to the…hospital. That man attacked us." Kurama told her. She turned to Jonathan, who was opening his mouth to say something, but he fell oddly silent and began looking around, as if he heard something else.

"Yes, that's probably wise. He attacked us?" Dayne took a step forward, wondering at the fact that she dreamed through an attack. She must have been useless, standing there. With a look at the three men around her, she decided she didn't care – she didn't dislike Shuichi despite his over-bearing politeness, and she really didn't care what his short friend thought. Plus, Jonathan had known her forever. He understood she just started dreaming. It's not like she tried to.

"Allow me." The short man lunged at her, so fast she only saw a blur. She managed half a step back before her head started getting heavy, turning her eyesight black.

"Now, really Hiei, was that necessary?" Kurama asked his friend, looking down at the two unconscious humans. "We'll have to carry them to the portal."

"Hn. Better than lying to them the entire way." Hiei snorted, and picked up Jonathan's ankle as he started to drag him towards the portal Koenma had waiting for them.

"I suppose." Kurama agreed, bending down to pick the girl up as opposed to dragging her.

_

* * *

There were vines trapping Dayne, twisting around her so tightly she couldn't even breathe. They were like snakes, slowly, slowly teasing the last ounce of air out of her…the thorns were pricking her skin, biting into her tender flesh. Flowers were blooming around her, disarmingly beautiful. They were red with her blood. Slowly, the vines began peeling off her, leaving red welts around her body. She lay still, watching them warily. A rose dropped from the last one, falling into her hand. It was oddly heavy, and the smell was thick and cloying, clogging up her head…something was whispering into her ear about forgetting…forgetting what? The vines? Why would she forget about those, they were just a dream…just a dream…_

* * *

"Nnnh," Dayne rolled over in her bed, snuggling deeper into the light blue comforter. She loved the smell of her fabric softener, and her blanket retained it for such a long time…

"What the?" Dayne sat up in her bed, looking around. When did she get back in the bed? What had happened to the park and going to the hospital? Surely she hadn't fainted; she was usually very composed and not easily shaken at all. She stood from her bed and turned on the lights. The rest of the house was dark and quiet, and outside a faint tinge of grey was lighting the horizon. It was close to dawn. For a second, she wondered if she had dreamed about the park, the man, Shuichi and his friend…but no, she never dreamed inside of a dream. And she distinctly remembered at least three dreams. They had been getting weird, recently. If anything, that would have shaken her up more than that odd man, with bony fingers.


	5. Like Magic

**Blah blah blah, YYH isn't mine, blah blah blah. (See? The disclaimer is cleverly hidden amongst droning teacher sounds.)**

**So…Yeah, obviously this is the next chapter. This one is harder to write…I feel like Sagaku was so easy because everything was basically a one-way sorta deal. Dayne is a bit more complicated and I keep accidentally typing Sagaku as her name, haha ^.^'**

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* * *

Hunting For Answers**

Dayne left the house early in the morning, leaving a note on the kitchen table for her father and their guests. It was rude, of course, to leave like this. But it was only going to be for a few hours. She had a feeling that Shuichi would show up at the park, and she wanted answers. He was going to have to give them to her.

"I'm not surprised at all that Shorty would do something so inhumane. Of course he would hit them in the head!" There was a loud guffaw, one that sounded suspiciously like the large man who had stepped on her in the airport.

"You don't sense anything, though? No weird spirit energy?" That voice was Shuichi, and it sounded like the two of them were getting closer. Dayne stood up from her bench, waiting at the bend of the sidewalk for them.

"No, Kurama. Absolutely nothing." Kurama? Who was that? Dayne took a step forward, stepping into view. Only two people were there. It was Shuichi and the man who had said 'Kurama.'

"Dayne!" Shuichi sounded startled. She narrowed her eyes at the two of them.

"What's going on?" Dayne asked, lifting her chin stubbornly.

"Who are you?" The orange-headed man asked. He squinted at her. "You look familiar…I know! You were at the airport!" And then with an incredulous look, he turned to the redhead. "_This_ is the girl?"

"I'm what girl?" Dayne snapped icily. "And who is Kurama?"

"I'm Kurama, sort of. It's a nickname." The man she thought of as Shuichi answered. Her sharp gaze focused on him. His smile was meant to be charming. He was lying.

"What happened yesterday? How did I get home?" She shot at him. He looked at her startled.

"What do you mean?" He asked cautiously.

"The last thing I remembered was us getting ready to go to the hospital. What happened to the man who attacked us, and your short friend?" Dayne asked. Then she paused, thinking about how she had described the rude man. Hadn't the tall, carrot-topped man just said something about 'Shorty' knocking two people unconscious?

"I thought you said they had their memories erased." Kurama's friend said stupidly.

"They did." Kurama's eyes were very focused, and unnerving. Dayne met his gaze coolly, keeping her face stonily expressionless. Something was going on here, and no one was going to pull the wool over her eyes. "Dayne, I'm going to have to ask you to come with us, if you would." Kurama said politely, but his voice sounded hard.

_There was an odd, swirling mass of lights and darkness. Someone was pushing Dayne towards it, although every instinct was screaming that she didn't belong in there. She turned on the person trying to force her forward. It was Shuichi-Kurama, and his gaze was scarily emotionless. He looked…dangerous. _

Kurama was taking another step toward Dayne, his hand outstretched. Coming to from her dream, Dayne did the one thing she would normally avoid doing – she kicked him. Hard. And then ran. She wasn't going anywhere with him, not until everything was cleared up. Heck, he was still basically a stranger! And which kid had never heard that story? You don't go anywhere with strangers.

"Shit, Kurama, that girl can run really fast! How come she still remembers?" Kuwabara looked at his slightly shorter friend who was wincing in pain.

"I don't know, but we should probably go talk to Koenma." Kurama decided, logical as always.

* * *

"What do you mean she didn't forget? Of course she did! I even watched you make her breathe in the powder!" Koenma paced back and forth behind his desk, only the top of his hat showing. It really was a troubling matter, the girl remembering something despite their administrations. "She probably only has faint memories." When Kurama opened his mouth to protest, Koenma interrupted him. "Nonetheless, I demand you bring her here so I can interview her myself."

"I don't know. We tried and she kicked Kurama in the shins." Kuwabara laughed.

"She kicked him? Is she Hanshoku, too?" Koenma despaired.

"Not everyone who kicks in Hanshoku, Koenma. She's just a human girl." Kurama rolled his eyes. The eighteen Hanshoku girls were quite frankly a nuisance, no matter how much he loved them all. Usagi's daughter was the loudest baby he'd ever met.

* * *

"Pip," Jonathan put his arm around Dayne's shoulder, pulling her close to him, "Let's go out today. How about dinner and a movie?" The blonde offered.

"No thank you, Jon. I appreciate the offer, but I was going to cook tonight." She tried to politely decline. She was still mulling over what had happened in the park, her heart beating quicker each time she wondered what her dream had meant. Her dreams had never been so weird and impossible. It wasn't right, and it scared her. It scared her a lot. Unfortunately, Jonathan took the rush of blood to her cheeks to mean she was being shy, not that she was terrified.

"Come on, pip. It's been ages since it's been just me and you." He ruffled the top of her hair, ruining her perfectly straight part.

"I'm sorry, Jon, but I was really looking forward to cooking." She smiled blandly up at him, and then left to the kitchen. Uncle Riley and her dad were in there.

"Hey kiddo, howz'about ye grab a cold one fer yer fav'rit uncle!" Uncle Riley greeted her with a smile. She smiled back, as she opened the fridge and pulled him out a cold soda. Despite his joking around about alcohol, she had never actually seen him drink it.

"So what are your plans for the day, dear?" Her father asked her, his glasses crooked on her face.

"I was going to cook dinner tonight. Is there anything special I can make?" Dayne went through the pleasantries as always, but her mind was still a hundred miles away.

_Dayne was stirring the chicken in the frying pan, flipping the small chunks over idly as she wondered about other things. There was a knock at the door, an eager, concise knock. Her dad stood up with a puzzled face, and went to open the door. There was a girl standing there, looking out of place on the clean, white porch._

_ "Hey, is Dayne here?" She asked, rocking back on her heels, her bright brown hair swinging around her face in heavy masses. There was a chopstick holding most of it up in the back._

_ "Uhm, yes…but…may I tell her who's asking for her?" Dayne's dad asked, shocked at the sight of the heavily bejeweled girl. She grinned, a bright, open smile._

_ "Sure! I'm Sagaku. She might not remember me, but I was in her Chem class."_

Dayne stopped stirring the chicken, blood rushing up to her cheeks again. She hated when she got scared – some girls looked cute when they blushed. She looked like a tomato. Sagaku? No, there had been no Sagaku in her Chemistry class…there had been no girls that looked like that. She sighed, and started stirring the chicken again. Maybe the stress from finals was making her dreams all weird. It would probably all go back to normal in a few days. At least there hadn't been any demons in that one.

Dinner finished cooking with no interruptions from the door. Dayne smiled, realizing she was getting paranoid. She had probably freaked Shuichi, or Kurama, or whatever his name was, out earlier when she was rambling about a man attacking and hospitals. It would probably be better if she just stayed home for a few days.

"I'll clean the plates." Dayne's dad smiled after dinner, patting his stomach. Dayne bowed her head forward and mumbled a thank you. She was full, too.

"Can we watch a movie?" Benjamin asked, leaning forward excitedly. He liked games and movies and books, and Japan always had new ones that he had never seen or even heard of.

"Yeah, let's watch a scary movie!" Jonathan agreed with his younger brother, his pale blue eyes on Dayne. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm afraid I don't have any scary movies." She informed the two boys.

"An action movie?" Benjamin suggested.

"None except for Transformers, and we watched that the other night." Dayne admitted.

"Comedy?" Jonathan asked.

"No, I'm sorry." Maybe she would get lucky, and she wouldn't actually have to watch a movie with them. She had no such luck though, because her dad stepped into the picture.

"Dayne, why don't you take them downtown to that movie theatre? You guys can pick a movie to watch there." He beamed at them. Uncle Riley beamed too. It was creepy.

"Hai, that is a good idea." She bowed to the two older men, seething inside. It was easier to play hostess when all she had to do was pull out a deck of cards and play war for a few hours with Jonathan and Benjamin. Now their dads were constantly trying to get them out of the house, and plus, cooking dinner had been an excuse to _not_ go to the movies.

* * *

"So that was a weird movie." Jonathan swung his arm over Dayne's shoulder. Not to be undone, Benjamin swung his arm over her other shoulder.

"Seriously, what was up with that weird black stuff that kept bursting out of everyone's stomach?" The younger boy crinkle his nose at the idea of ink spilling out of his guts.

"What should we do now? Wanna go dancing?" Jonathan asked, purposely not answering his little brother's question.

"We can't, I'm not old enough." Benjamin reminded him. It was true – while Dayne was nineteen and Jonathan was twenty, Benjamin was only sixteen.

"You can wait in the car." Jonathan told Benjamin in a serious voice. The two began to bicker. Dayne refrained from rolling her eyes, but inside she fought the urge to bash their heads in.

"Hey! Hey, girl wearing the green scarf!" Someone yelled from behind them. Dayne turned, keeping her face impassive even as she wondered who was yelling to her. "Dayne, right?" The girl was at least seven inches shorter than her, with a ridiculously skimpy outfit despite the cold temperature and smiling brightly. It was the girl from her dream.

"Wrong person." Dayne mumbled to the shorter girl, and then turned, pulling Jonathan and Benjamin with her.

"What do you mean wrong person? Do you know her?" Benjamin asked loudly. Dayne was beginning to blush again. She could feel the heat rushing to her face. How had she known that girl was going to find her? Before today she had never seen her, had she? But there had to be a reasonable explanation.

"You're going to keep running into us until you actually talk, you know!" The girl shouted after them. "We just want to ask a few questions!"

"Do you have a fan group or something?" Jonathan asked, looking over his shoulder at the odd girl. Dayne didn't even respond.


	6. Territorial Disputes

**Gracias to WistfulSin for all the reviews, I totally appreciate it ^.^**

**And, as usual, I must say I don't own YYH.**

**But here, enjoy a short scene with our favorite demons from my other story =D And then Dayne of course haha.**

**

* * *

Staking a Claim**

"She totally blew me off." Sagaku perched on the arm of the couch, leaning against Kurama. Hiei was glowering, but he refrained from snapping at his mate. "First she looked at me like she recognized me, and then she started dragging off those two boys, moving like demons were on her tail." Sagaku twisted a strand of hair around her finger thoughtfully, paying no attention to the fact that it was Kurama's hair. "Do you think she remembered me from the airport?"

"Hn. It's unlikely. She shouldn't remember anything at all." Hiei repressed the urge to stand and drag Sagaku over to the same chair he sat on. He hated seeing her with other men, but as she was constantly reminding him, she was Hanshoku. If he didn't want her hanging all over him in front of others, he would have to get over her being cozy with other people. Plus, he knew the fox didn't have any designs on her, it was just the way things had always been.

"She does remember though. She's confused about it, but the memory was definitely there." Kurama frowned, puzzled. "I have no idea how we can talk to her without making a scene though. She's suddenly become very skittish."

Sagaku laughed, and jumped off the arm of the chair, letting go of Kurama's hair. She headed to the kitchen to get a drink. "She's not skittish, she's freaking slippery! Seriously, the way she reacted I didn't even have a second to respond. I give her an A plus on instinct."

"We'll have to figure something else out." Kurama frowned, leaning his chin on his hands as he sat forward.

"We can always kill her."

"We're not killing her, Hiei."

_

* * *

Someone was watching Dayne, dark purple eyes following her as she moved around restlessly. She cast a wary glance to both sides, but saw no one. She could just see the eyes in her head, ever haunting. Something was following her, getting closer with each second. Sometimes she heard the click of nails on the floor, like it was an animal. Other times she caught a huge whiff of musty, rotting dirt. It kept getting closer and closer. Soon, it would be on her. Hopefully she could make it to safety in time, just a few more steps; she knew she could make it. She had to make it._

Dayne groaned as she continued scrubbing herself down in the shower. If these dreams didn't stop soon, she was going to go insane. Maybe it would be safer just to be in an insane asylum, anyways. Of course, her dream of going to the Amazon would be squashed, then. And what about the numerous birds in Africa? There was way too much to miss out on. She would just have to keep her sanity.

The door clicked open, and Dayne's eyes shot to the shower curtain, mortified. She opened her mouth to say something – and goddamnit! The door had been locked!

"I feel like you're trying to avoid me." Dayne's eye's narrowed angrily. She knew that voice.

"Jonathan, get out." She ordered, maintaining a level voice. Her mother would have been very proud of her for keeping her temper reined in. It had been years since her last outbreak.

"I'm not trying anything, I'm just sitting on the counter. I can't see you , you can't see me. I just want to talk!" He protested with his southern accent.

"Regardless of what you're not trying, I'm asking you to leave." See? Her voice wasn't even shaking yet. It was totally calm.

"Just listen: I want to go out with that. You know that – I've made it very clear recently. Not that it is recent, I've liked you since we were little tots. You keep dodging off, though, and don't act like it's because you don't like me." His voice was reasoning, light and entertaining.

"I'm sorry you feel like I've been avoiding you, but if you don't leave, I'm calling both of our dad's up here." Dayne threatened, wrapping her arms around her body. Sure, he couldn't see anything around the navy blue curtain, but he shouldn't even be in the room.

"They won't care as long as I'm not doing anything. You know they both want us to get married. It would be making us family for real." Jonathan sounded smug now. Dayne closed her eyes, wondering how she got stuck in this position. She wanted to storm out of the room, throw things, and quite possibly break his nose against the mirror. But she couldn't do that all naked. "Look, just think about it. I'll leave you be for a bit." And with that, he left. Dayne peeked around the shower curtain, checking to make sure he was truly gone, before she grabbed a towel and turned off the water.

Dressing quickly, Dayne brushed her teeth and combed her hair out, seething all the while. Her face was impassive, though, and she studied it in the mirror. Her mother would be so proud. She wasn't angry, not on the outside. It had taken her so long to perfect the courteous manner. When she left the bathroom, she dodged furtively to her bedroom. No one stopped her. She quickly locked the door and leaned against it, slumping to the floor. Her blue eyes glared angrily at her dresser, like it was the cause of everything strange and uncalled for lately. She wanted to scream, to cry, but she swallowed the useless emotions.

The room was plain. All four walls were white. The curtains on her window were pale blue. Her comforter was the exact same shade. The wood on all of the furniture was lightly colored wood. There were no decorations. It was plain, and perfect for her when she needed to focus again. She had to calm down, breathe, lose her temper. And slowly her temperate was beginning to loosen its hold on her, her calm demeanor returning. It wasn't fair for life to be this complicated.

_

* * *

The demons were closer now, so close she could smell the rancid meat that clung to their bones. Her feet pounded on the floor, bringing her closer to safety. Just around the corner, she just had to make it that far. Her feet skidded and she rounded the sharp corner, falling into sturdy arms. She was enveloped in green, safety pulling her in. The demons were falling back, leaving her in peace._

Dreams of demons woke Dayne up. She panted as she clutched her pillow closer to her body. She never slept with her head on it, it always ended up in her arms. Her mom had always laughed and teased her, saying she would end up with a flat head. Her head wasn't flat, though, and she still slept hugging the pillow as she always had. The dreams of danger and safety were terrifying and left her heart pounding, a faint flush spreading across her face. She hoped the dreams would stop.

With a sigh, Dayne turned to the cooler side of her bed and closed her eyes again. Sleep would come, and she would welcome it with pleasure. Hopefully a dreamless sleep, yet she didn't expect that. Dreams were so ingrained in her life; it was almost like she lived in a cloud half the time.

It was morning, but Dayne was hovering at the door. She could stay in the house and be cornered by Jonathan again, or she could leave and run into some other character from her dreams. Considering how creepy the last few dreams had been, she was pretty sure facing Jonathan would be the lesser of two evils. The decision was made for her, though, when her dad walked into the living room where she was. He blinked, but he wasn't really surprised to see her up so early. She was always up early.

"You should take Benjy and Jon to go look around the shops today." Her dad informed her in his pleasant, mild voice. Dayne resisted the urge to tell him he should be the one taking them out. Benjamin was okay, but not okay enough to balance out how much of a pig his brother was.

"I don't think they would enjoy that, dad." Dayne lied to her dad. Unfortunately, she had to swallow the words two seconds later.

"No, that sounds great! Let me go wake up Jon!" Benjamin bolted back into the hallway, rushing to go wake up his brother. Dayne sighed. Looked like she would be facing both dangers today. Somehow the thought didn't make her all warm and fuzzy inside.

The drive was filled with useless chatter, and Dayne was settling in for a long, boring day. Like any other girl, she liked shopping. She did not, however, want to go shopping with these two. Benjamin always wanted to go into those comic book stores where she got weird looks, and Jonathan always wanted to look at posters and weapons. It was enough to make her want to puke.

Nothing happened out of the ordinary for the first four hours of shopping. By the time it was noon, Dayne's feet were sore, and she had already politely declined two invitations to help her read comic books. She didn't need help reading them, she simply wasn't interested. The three of them – Jonathan and Benjamin both holding a few bags – agreed to find somewhere to eat in. They were seated against the side of the building, and her back was to the door. Both Benjamin and Jonathan sat across from her.

"Why haven't you bought anything yet? I thought girls liked shopping." Jonathan shot her a teasing grin.

"Yeah, if you want to stop in the _other_ shops, you just have to tell us!" Benjamin piped in. Dayne smiled blandly, toying with the straw in her drink.

"I don't have anything I need right now." She told them. It was true, for the most part. She didn't actually need anything at the moment, although it would be nice if their lunch got there soon. The chair next to her scraped back, and she looked up, mildly surprised. It was the redhead who went by two names.

"We need to talk." He smiled lightly at her but she didn't return the smile.

"Hey buddy, back off. She's already taken." Jonathan snapped. Dayne's eyes narrowed dangerously but she didn't say anything. Taken? What on earth made him think he had her?

"Yeah, can't you see she's with us right now?" Trust Benjamin to try to sound menacing. He sounded exactly like a sixteen year old boy, which was to say very non-threatening.

"I don't need to talk to her right now. I was just reminding her that it's important." Kurama smiled at all of them and stood up, his hand touching lightly against her shoulder.

_Green vines crawled from his fingers, wrapping up into her hair casually. _

He was already walking away before she could contemplate the meaning of the second-long dream.

"That guy is a menace." Jonathan snarled, glaring at Kurama's back.

"Yeah, he is. You should stay away from him." Benjamin added, patting the top of her hand in a comforting way. Dayne refrained from rolling her eyes, yet again. These boys had no idea what was going on…not that she did, either, but at least she didn't think it was solely romancing attempts.


	7. Going Home

**This is kind of a short chapter, but only because the next chapter is when everything starts going down and I wanted to build suspense by making you guys wait =P**

**YYH and all its ridiculously wonderful characters do not belong to me…all the wonderful characters not from YYH do belong to me, though =]**

**Enjoy!**

**

* * *

Warning Dreams**

For the rest of the winter break, Dayne was forced to play hostess for Benjamin and Jonathan. After a while, she began to realize that Jonathan was righter. Their fathers were trying to get them together. Benjamin just fit into the puzzle with absolute naivety. He had no idea that Jonathan was constantly trying to get closer to Dayne, and oftentimes he accidentally thwarted his brother. It was enough to make Dayne want to punt them all out of the country. She didn't, though, and for that she was proud.

The odd girl, the one who definitely looked pregnant, had bumped into her a few more times, but each time Dayne managed to dodge into a crowd of people. Jonathan and Benjamin played along with good humor. Now, though, it was the end of the month, and it was time to send Uncle Riley, Benjamin, and Jonathan back to their farm.

"Don't miss us too much, dahlin'!" Uncle Riley gave Dayne a giant hug, squeezing her tightly. She returned it, though not nearly as forceful.

"How can I not miss you, Uncle Riley? Have a safe trip back." She muttered into his ear. He took a step back, and Benjamin gave her a tentative hug.

"When are you gonna come see us again?" He asked her. She smiled warmly, a change from her normal, polite smile.

"How about this summer, if you guys can't come up here?" She asked him. He grinned at her, and kissed her cheek. Dayne hugged him back, and then turned to Jonathan.

Jonathan stepped forward to hug her before she could offer her hand to shake. "Don't forget what I said. Think about it, pip, because I'm always thinking about it." He told her. His warm arms kept her from moving.

"Jonathan, I do-" The rest of Dayne's protestation was lost as Jonathans soft lips met hers, brushing against them softly, before he stepped back.

"See ya." He grinned, giving a goofy wave, and then the three Americans got in line to board their plane.

_Jonathan was sitting in an unfamiliar room with two others. They had many odd objects around them, and they were sitting on an odd drawing. He was holding something, a picture, smiling wanly. He put it down on the floor, but it was too small, too blurry, to really make out. The edges of the picture began to curl, smoke drifting up. There wasn't a fire, but clearly something was happening…_

Dayne hurried home, hoping the image would leave her head. Plus, she was mortified that Jonathan had kissed her, especially in front of his dad and brother. He was like a cousin to her! To be fair, they weren't really related, but still…it was gross. And he didn't get it: she wasn't interested. She wasn't going to be interested. She just wanted to finish school and go study in different countries, she wanted to see the world. Living in an apartment with a family friend was not a part of her plan.

Class was going to start after the weekend again, so Dayne spent the next two days carefully putting together everything she needed. One of her school books hadn't arrived in the mail yet, which was a cause of stress, but she carefully buried the negative feeling and went on preparing for her other three classes. The semester would be hectic, even though she didn't have any more ridiculous math classes. One more semester after this, and then she would be free. She was far enough ahead in her studies that she would be able to start applying for graduate school at the end of this semester.

* * *

Kurama sat on the bench, wondering if Dayne would come talk to him. He was in one of her classes, but not until the next day, and he was still desperately trying to come up with a plan. So far, his choices were running to abduction or death, as Hiei had suggested. Death seemed a little bit harsh, and abduction seemed almost impossible. The girl was so good at avoiding everyone who went to go try to talk to her; it was almost like she knew when they were coming. For a minute, he played with the idea of her being a Psychic. It was an interesting thought, but Kuwabara hadn't even sensed any spirit energy coming from her.

_Something was pulling on her ankles, lightly. Dayne tried to kick out, but her foot didn't connect with anything. With a cry that she muffled herself, she started running, running…Shadows were following her, reaching for her with weird appendages. A silver fox jumped between her and the shadows, snarling fiercely, and warm arms enveloped her, shielded her. Plants were beginning to stem around her, rooting her in place._

Dayne forced herself not to snarl and kept a politely bland face on as she went to go sit on the bench beside Shuichi-Kurama. He was obviously waiting for her.

"I wasn't sure if you would come talk to me, you seem to have been avoiding me lately." He smiled at her, his voice not even hinting at accusation.

"Until I know what's going on, I'm afraid I'll have to continue avoiding you and your friends." Dayne said politely, eying his hand. There weren't any stems on it, but she couldn't help but think about all the dreams she had. Stress wouldn't have continued them on for this long. Surely they meant something.

"Come with me after class and I'll explain everything." He smiled, leaning forward to face her.

"What are you really called? Is it Shuichi, or is it Kurama? Because I don't think Kurama sounds like much of a nickname." Dayne said as she mulled over the idea of going with him to hear his explanation. But no, he was lying. His small smile told her so.

"I'm mostly called Kurama. My family calls me Shuichi." He admitted to her, wondering if honesty would be the best way to get her to go with him.

"Well, Kurama, I'm sorry to decline your offer. I think I'll figure it out on my own. Have a nice day." Dayne stood, walking away.

_Kurama stood from the bench, reaching out and grabbing for her shoulder. A rose was unfolding itself from between his fingers, the sharp thorns thrusting into the bare inch of flesh between her scarf and sweater._

Kurama stood hurriedly from the bench, reaching out to grab Dayne. His fingers hit her shoulder, but she quickly shrugged him off and rushed away. He was left standing by the bench, wondering why she was running away. Girls never ran away from him. It was a part of his charm…but she seemed immune to the attraction. He smiled wryly, wondering what he would have to do to convince her to come with him. It was starting to look like abduction _was_ the answer.


	8. Answers

**YYH = Not mine :'( (Many, many tears.)**

**Enjoy this lovely chapter, and stay tuned for more ;) At first I didn't really like where the story was going, but as I always write a bit ahead…now I do =P**

**

* * *

Dreaming of Darkness**

The class Kurama had talked the professor into letting him join late was a class on Tropical Botany. He was surprised that Dayne was taking such a class, and couldn't help but wonder why. Surely she wouldn't need to know about plants to study birds? He laughed to himself. He was being a fool, of course she would need to know about the plants. She would need to know about everything, including the rainfall and precipitation. It was a surprisingly large class – there were at least seventy students in the room already. He didn't see Dayne yet.

Dayne had the weirdest sense of being followed, something she wasn't happy about. She wondered if it was the pregnant girl, who she hadn't seen lately, or someone else. Not sure which would be preferable, she was trying to get to class. In a crowd she would be safe.

_The man was tall, with hair as straight as her although ten times blacker. His eyes were totally emotionless, dark and eerie. He watched Dayne, taking two steps for every step she took. He was gaining fast. There were a lot of students around, but it was easy to move around them. Most of them didn't even see him, and the few that did were quick to move out of his way. It was the girl he was interested in, though, the girl who was leaving a trail of fear behind her like bread crumbs. Green leaves were sprouting off the hibernating trees, though, and with an ounce of luck, Dayne managed to close the door to the classroom, leaving the man on the other side staring at the trees._

Kurama perked up the instant he felt the demonic pressure. Most of the rebels were gone, but this was definitely, without a doubt, assuredly, a demon. He peeked at the window and didn't see anything, but when he turned to the door, Dayne was standing there, stiff. She looked mostly composed, but he could smell fear and adrenaline coming from her. Her eyes roved around the room, and when they landed on him, she rushed over. Sliding into the seat next to him, and pulling the small desk board down, she dropped her stuff and then turned to him, a serious look in her stunning blue eyes.

"What's going on?" She whispered to him.

"Who was chasing you?" Kurama asked at the same time, wondering if she had caught a glimpse of him or her.

"I don't know. Maybe some tall guy, with really straight dark hair. That might not be right, though. Kurama, why won't you stop sending people to come talk to me? They're starting to get creepy." Dayne was out of breath, and her cheeks were flushed with fear and anger. Her temper was getting the better of her, she knew, and she was trying really hard to pull it back in.

"I didn't send anyone to talk to you except for Sagaku. She is not tall, and certainly not a guy. I promise, I can help. Just come with me after class." He offered again, trying to look interested as the professor entered the room. Dayne fell silent, and pulled out a notebook, taking a deep breath. Kurama watched, out of the corner of his eye, as she spent the next hour and fifteen minutes taking detailed notes in small, precise handwriting. She didn't even glance at him once.

Class ended, although most of it had been the professor telling everyone that if they asked her questions that were answered in the syllabus, she was going to fail them. Kurama stood, and looked at Dayne, wondering if this time she would come with him. The demon that had been following her had either hid all traces of his presence, which was possible, or he had left. Kurama hoped it was the latter.

"Will you come with me?" He asked, eying the tall girl. The top of her head was level with his nose. It was odd, being around a girl that height. Even Keiko was a little bit shorter. Shizuru was the exception, but then again, Kuwabara was ridiculously tall as well.

"Yes, but I expect answers." Dayne looked at him pointedly, waiting for him to lead the way.

Kurama wondered if it would be smarter to take the girl to his home, where he lived with his mom, or if it would be wiser to bring her to Sagaku's apartment. Hiei would be there, without doubt, and he had a feeling that Dayne would cling to normalcy without proper proof. In the end, as she climbed suspiciously into his car, he decided to take her to Sagaku and Hiei. Sagaku would no doubt be able to talk sense into the girl.

"Can you start answering questions now?" Dayne asked tersely, holding stock-still in her seat. Her lips were a little white, and there was a flush of red across her cheeks, but past that she sat entirely composed.

"Sure," Kurama agreed, hoping to set her at ease, "I can try." He kept his eyes on the road, wondering what she would ask first. He always imagined that upon finding out about demons, people would first want to know what his power was, or something else mundanely boring.

"Whenever I dream about what you guys are going to do, it happens. But it keeps happening differently. Why?" Dayne turned to face him, her face impassive. Kurama spared a surprised look at her before looking back at the icy road.

"What do you mean by saying you dream about us? Do you dream like that every night?" He asked, trying to hide his shock. Maybe she was a psychic, despite the fact that he had talked himself out of that idea.

"I thought that's why you guys wouldn't leave me alone. And no, I don't dream about you guys every night. It's during the day, usually two or three times during the day." Dayne turned a little more in the seat, another question forming on her lips. Kurama was turning into a parking lot, though.

"We're here. That girl you've seen a few times lives here, and her mate, Hiei, should be here too." Kurama went to go open her door as well, but she was already climbing out. She eyed the building, and then glanced around the neighborhood. Satisfied that she knew where they were, she turned to follow Kurama to the building.

They stood in front of a door in a dull hallway, Kurama having knocked politely. There was scuffling inside, the sound of something hitting against a wall, a sharp laugh, and then the door opened. The pregnant girl, Sagaku, was grinning widely. Her grin spread even wider when she saw Dayne standing by Kurama.

"Hiei! We've got visitors!" She shouted gleefully, throwing the door open. "Come on guys, get in here!" Kurama smiled and carefully hugged the pregnant girl who hugged him back. She held her hand out to Dayne, who took it dutifully. "It's nice to meet you for real. I'm Sagaku. Why were you always running?"

"Sagaku, you have to give her time to ask questions first. I promised her an explanation." Kurama sighed, and then grinned at the disgruntled fire demon who was sitting on the window sill. He was glaring at his mate, seething at her careless attitude. She was only a few weeks away from giving birth, and she was clumsy with the added bulk to her body. She shouldn't be rushing around like she was.

"Okay." Sagaku pulled her feet up onto the couch, the bottom of her large belly resting on her legs as she leaned forward. "Ask away." She smiled at Dayne who didn't smile back. She sat on the chair across from the couch hesitantly, although she grew more confident when Kurama sat on the couch next to Sagaku so she could see him too.

"Why were you guys following me?" Dayne cut straight to the chase, skipping the pleasantries.

"Well, when you confronted Kurama about the attack after he erased your memories we got worried. You shouldn't have had any thoughts whatsoever of it." Sagaku leaned forward. "Did your cousin remember it too?"

"He's not really my cousin," Dayne said absentmindedly, "and I never talked to him about it. If he had remembered he would have kept talking about it. But you were following me before the attack." Here she turned to the redhead, trying really hard to keep her snarky tone inside and not where everyone could hear it.

"We saw you at the airport when you picked them up, remember?" Dayne didn't shake her head, although she didn't remember seeing them. Actually, the tall one…Kuwabara…he had stepped on her, hadn't he? "You were giving off a weird vibe. I got curious." Kurama told her, his green eyes earnest.

"Why are you always sprouting leaves and vines in my dreams?" Dayne asked Kurama, her eyes narrowing with keen interest. It was the first sign of change her face had made in the entire conversation. Sagaku snorted and even Hiei looked over to the three of them at that comment.

Kurama cleared his throat awkwardly and rubbed his hand into his hair. When he pulled his hand away, there was a little seed in his fingers. "I didn't realize you could see anything like that in your…dreams. Manipulating plants is one of my powers." Kurama said, focusing on the little seed. It was sprouting quickly, green stems twisting this way and that.

"Power? What do you mean?" Dayne was staring at the seed with rapt fascination, her electric blue eyes taking in the plants growth almost greedily.

"Most demons have control over some element or form of energy." Sagaku smiled and fingered one of the many stones she wore. "It's usually a way of attack or defense."

"Demons?" Dayne asked coolly. "Are you telling me you guys are demons?"

Sagaku frowned at the girl, and then turned to Kurama with a questioning look. He shrugged. He kind of thought she already knew, but apparently she hadn't understood what the dreams meant.

"Of course we are." Sagaku answered. "Here, you just saw Kurama do that. Watch this." The stone between her fingers seemed to be humming lightly, and it shone pale green for a second.

_Sagaku wasn't burdened by her pregnancy anymore, and her stones all pounded heavily with light. She held a coil of metal in her hands, and it alternated between forming a shield and lashing out with deadly accuracy. The man in front of her was like the opposite of the man who had been following Dayne recently. This man – demon – was blonde, with short-cropped hair and dark blue eyes. He was fighting with two metal swords, and seemed to be clanging them together every few seconds. The black stones around Sagaku's wrist burned black, and with a flash the demon fell. Fire engulfed him, and Hiei stood there, a black dragon twining around him as it smacked its great teeth together hungrily._

"Was that a dream?" Sagaku asked excitedly, leaning perilously far forward. Kurama put a hand on her shoulder, holding her back from getting too close to the startled Dayne. "Your eyes got all hazy, and you stopped responding!" She made it sound like it was the greatest thing that had ever happened.

"Yes, it was a dream." Dayne responded coldly. Then her eyes traveled to the metal coil that was twisted around Sagaku's upper arm. "You use that to fight?" She asked, referring to the metal. Sagaku's eyes were fairly shining with enthusiasm.

"Yeah! How did you know? What else did you see?" The brown-haired, crazy-looking beauty was basically bouncing in her seat.

"Hn. Onna, calm down." Hiei stood up from the window, his hand resting on Sagaku's shoulder for a second. She stopped bouncing and smiled up at him.

"I saw fire…and a black dragon." Dayne watched Hiei warily, wondering why both had been around him. He stared at her with angry red eyes. "There was another demon, with two swords and short blonde hair. He was fighting you." She turned back to Sagaku. "You always seem kind of blurred in my dreams, like there's more than one of you."

"That's probably because I'm Hanshoku." Sagaku still hadn't stopped beaming. It was beginning to get on Dayne's nerves.

"I can't read her thoughts." Hiei announced, glaring at Dayne like it was her fault.

"Really? You can put up a barrier?" Sagaku asked Dayne jealously, a small frown crossing over her lips. "I have to use my stones. I can't do it otherwise."

"What are you talking about?" Dayne looked to the short, black-haired demon. "How are you able to read thoughts?"

"Hn." Hiei glared at her. She stared back without emotion, waiting for an answer. He did answer, but Sagaku's question, not Dayne's. "It's not a barrier. It's more like she doesn't have any thoughts." He sneered at Dayne. Her temper flared, but she stayed calm. Her mom would have wanted her to stay calm.

"Wow. That's impressive, you have like a natural defense." Sagaku groaned and leaned back against the couch, gripping her stomach. "He's kicking again. He does that a lot." She told Dayne, rubbing her stomach as if soothing it. "But if you do have a natural defense, that explains why the powder didn't make you forget anything. Kurama tested it on me once, to see if it would work. It did, but only when I wasn't wearing my stones."

"Does this answer your questions?" Kurama asked, leaning forward and peering into Dayne's eyes intently. She shook her head mutely, even though she was dying to know more. It all went along with her dreams, it all made sense in an insane way. But it had to be some complex joke. Plus, she couldn't think of any questions. Her head was spinning too quickly, slowing only when she thought about her recent dreams.

"Come on, I'll drive you back to campus and then follow you home. If the other demon comes out into the open again, I'll at least be able to see who it is this time." Kurama was saying, taking her elbow and leading her out the door.

"Ooo, there's another demon?" Sagaku was struggling to stand up, her dark eyes lighting up.

"Onna, sit down. You're not chasing a demon right now." Hiei commanded, and then the door closed behind them.


	9. Ice Storm

**YYH doesn't belong to me and I have an important notice:**

**My internet went out. I am currently leaching off someone else's, which is not something I'm comfortable doing. And 2) I'm going out of town on Thursday until Monday. Moral of these little facts is that I won't be posting for roughly a week UNLESS where I'm going has 'net I can use. So please don't think I've forgotten about y'all, it's just necessary =[**

**An Unfair Death**

"So do you believe me now?" Kurama asked the girl sitting next to him in his car. She was staring blankly out the window, and turned around startled.

"I don't know. Maybe. There's more to it than what you guys told me." Dayne said, staring at him in all seriousness. He wished she wouldn't. She could easily be pretty, if she wiped the bland, serious, polite looks off her face. Her eyes seemed so expressive, but it was mostly just the bright color.

They both fell back into silence, and when they got back to the college campus Dayne scrambled out of the car, pulling her own keys out of her bag. Before she walked away, she paused for a minute, looking at loss for words. "Will…will other demons try hurting me? Now that I know?" She asked the redheaded man, her face silhouetted from a light behind her.

"They might." Kurama weighed his words for a minute. "You can always call if something happens."

"What's your number?"

And with that, she thanked him and got into her own car to drive home. Kurama followed her home, thinking all the while. Sagaku had been right when she described the girl as slippery – she was honest and open, it seemed, but she didn't say anything she didn't need to. And her lack of emotions was absolutely infuriating! It was even worse than Hiei, because she showed flashes. It proved that she was almost continuously holding back. He hoped he didn't come off like that.

The house she parked in front of was nice but boring. Kurama waited for the girl to disappear into the house before turning around and driving home. His mom no longer expected him back at any particular time – in fact, he was sometimes gone for days at a time – but he always returned there. He was afraid of the day he had to leave, of breaking his mother's heart. Even with her husband and new step-son, he knew she spent almost all of her affection on him.

Dayne went through the motions of sleeping, but she stayed awake thinking for hours. The three demons hadn't told her much, but with the little bit they had said and her recent dreams, she was beginning to piece a huge story together. Some of it still didn't make sense, though. Where did the demons come from? Were there angels, too? But Kurama and Sagaku didn't exactly seem like demons from Hell. Hiei…well, for all she knew he could have been a devil.

_The demon that had been following Dayne stood outside the house, looking at her window. The girl was sleeping, and there was no movement inside. He settled in for a long wait. Dayne wasn't in bed though, she was standing behind him and watching. There was an odd, scaly tail poking out from the back of his trench coat, and it scraped against the icy sidewalk slowly. With the feeling of evaporating, Dayne slowly began disappearing from the picture. _

The house was absolutely frigid when Dayne woke up. She burrowed further down beneath her comforter. It was absolutely silent. Everything was still. It was the stillness that drew Dayne out of her bed, putting her feet on the floor gingerly. The wood floors were so cold her feet began to ache immediately. There was a little light streaming into the house from the windows, but it was early and the sun was partially covered by misty clouds.

Dayne padded quietly out of her room, pausing at the light switch. The lights weren't working. She had assumed they wouldn't be, since it was so cold inside. The electricity must have gone out. She was starting to feel shaken, though.

"Dad?" She called quietly. It was early enough that he might still be asleep, though his snoring was usually rather loud. There was no answer, although the wind whistled eerily through the front room. With a frown, Dayne went to go investigate that. The front door was cracked open. Two of the picture frames on the wall were crooked, another one on the ground. Her heart was beginning to race, color flooding her cheeks.

She turned to her dad's room, desperately fighting against panic. The door opened when she tapped on it lightly. Dayne crept inside, hoping she would find her dad sleeping in his bed. He was in his bed, and for a second she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she saw the color of her dad's lips, and realized his eyes were wide open. He wasn't sleeping.

The dresser cracked against her back as she stumbled back, sending it rocking back and forth. Papers and books tumbled from the dresser top. She couldn't breathe, her lips moving soundlessly as she tried to call her dad to wake him up. He wasn't waking.

By the time Dayne regained her senses and called the cops her hands were shaking. Her entire body was shaking, and it wasn't just from the cold. Sirens announced the arrival of help, and by the time the detectives were inside, Dayne was trying to pull herself together. She thought she had, but when one of the detectives tried saying something to her she found she couldn't focus. She couldn't do anything.

"Miss, miss, you have to tell us what happened." The young detective tried shaking her shoulders, but she only looked at him helplessly, gesturing at her dad's room with tears streaming down her face. How come she didn't see this happening? Her dream didn't warn her, she hadn't heard him call for her. Why was he dead?

Somehow she got through the day, filling out paperwork and trying to answer questions. She was icy cold still, even though one of the cops had managed to start up the electricity again for her. She wasn't sure how he figured out what was wrong with it, but she had been grateful. The words of gratitude hadn't come to her lips when she tried to express it, but he had understood and nodded awkwardly. They removed the body and left her in the house, all alone…

"I need you, mom." Dayne whimpered into her hands as she covered her face. She needed someone, anyone…in a way, she got her wish. There was a knock on the door.

Opening it, Dayne was startled to see Kurama. She had been expecting another cop with questions she hadn't been able to answer.

"Hello, I just wanted to…" Kurama trailed off, staring down at her still pajama-clad body, and stony face. Her lip was quivering with the effort of not crying. "The demon attacked?" Kurama asked before continuing, "Why didn't you call?"

"Not a demon…I don't think…no dream…" For a second, Dayne wondered if she had muttered something like that in her report. It probably wouldn't make much sense to whoever reviewed it.

"Let me in." Kurama demanded. Dayne stepped to the side, and Kurama strode in purposefully, turning his head this way and that. He stalked off towards the closed door, the one with yellow tape strapped around it. The cops hadn't been able to make sense of the fact that her dad had seemingly died a natural death and that their house had been broken into. Coincidences didn't usually happen like that. "There was a demon here. You didn't dream about it?" Kurama questioned the deathly silent girl. She shook her head, her blue eyes wide in her pale face. "It smells…metallic almost."

"I dreamed about the one following me, but he didn't come into the house. He stayed outside and watched." Words started spilling from Dayne's mouth as she stared at the spot on her dad's bed. "It was freezing cold. The electricity was out. The door was open, a little, and the picture frames weren't right. Dad wasn't answering. His door wasn't shut all the way, either, and his lips were blue…his eyes were open…" She trailed off, her pupils wavering.

"Dayne, you need to come with me. We need to report this to Koenma." Kurama stepped forward, to take hold of Dayne's arm. He was startled when her gaze shot to his face, her eyelids lowering as she gave him a look of complete disdain.

"I bet you never know quite how to act." She said quietly, her gaze flicking over him. "You go through the motions, act polite, smile. But you're off. I already reported to the police. Whatever it is you think you're going to do, it's already been done." Kurama stopped, and tried to keep from glaring at her. It sucked, getting called out on his lack of total humanity. No one ever really noticed, not even his mom. Sagaku had made a really good judgment of the girl, even prior to meeting her. Dayne's instincts were spot on.

"The cops won't find anything. It was a demon here, you think any of them know about demons? You're going to need help, and the only person you're going to get it from is Koenma." He tried to keep his voice level, even though he really wanted to snap at her. She wouldn't be so high-and-mighty if he were in his demon form.

The girl wouldn't move, instead giving Kurama a stony glare. When her eyes glazed over in dream, he took his opportunity and grabbed her. It was no coincidence that a demon had attacked the night she finally learned about demons. Not only was it not a coincidence, it was a horrible threat meant to screw with her emotions. And Kurama could already tell that he was not going to like this girl, especially when she was bitter over her father's death.

_The demon with long black hair and eyes darker than black itself bent over her bed. He peeled the blankets off her, gently rolling her onto her back. With a pleased smirk, he lowered his mouth to an inch above hers, and then began to suck in air. Bright blue mist was beginning to twist out of Dayne's nose and mouth, but before the man could absorb it, green tendrils of the same substance began pulling it back in, twisting protectively over the orifices. The man straightened, a look of utter surprise on his face that soon turned to disparaging anger, and then spun out of the room._

_ He walked out into the hallway, turning into her father's room angrily. He bent over the man who was snoring loudly, a comforting sound that Dayne had grown up with. Pale blue tendrils, so pale they were almost grey, began spinning slowly into the air, spiraling up to slip through the demon's open lip. When nothing else came out of the man's mouth, the demon straightened._

_ Dayne realized her dad's eyes were open. He hadn't struggled, hadn't fought back. Why?_

_ The demon stalked back upstairs, and stood at Dayne's door. His dark eyes never strayed from her bed as he watched, pensive and still._


	10. Revelation

**Okay, so the good news is that I do have some 'net here =] Even so, I'm not posting like my normal crazy self cuz I'm with my ENTIRE family which is HUGE and LOUD and terribly, terribly busy. Why? Because half of us are full-blooded Italians =P But I will post a few chapters as I get the chance, sorry for all the back-and-forth stuff now LoL.**

**And I still don't own YYH :'( **

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No Patience**

"Oh, she's waking up! That must've been a long dream! Hey, Dayne, be careful when you sit up, okay?" The voice was quite clearly Sagaku's, but it sounded a lot different, like it was coming from a tv. When Dayne's eyes began to focus, she realized it was. There was a screen, suspended on nothing but air, hovering above a desk. And at the desk sat a toddler who was looking at her with much interest.

"Dayne Ippin. I am Koenma, prince of the Reikai!" He introduced himself expectantly. Dayne hesitated, wondering at the talking toddler, and then bowed slightly. It was during that bow that she caught sight of Kurama, leaning back smugly in a chair.

"You!" She whirled around, ignoring the 'prince.' "You conniving, thieving, lying son of a mother!" She snarled. Her mother's voice in her head was telling her to stop, to calm down. Being angry was unseemly. Being openly furious was worthy of disownment.

"Wow, she's got you pegged." This voice came from a stranger, some man leaning against the doorframe with a shorter girl behind him. The girl was looking at Dayne curiously, but the man just grinned at Kurama. "I don't think she likes you too much, fox."

"Fox?" Dayne shook her head, ignoring the nagging thought, and then glared at Kurama again. "What gives you the right to take me from my home? Especially after what happened? I have stuff I have to take care of, things I need to do!" She could feel the tears tingling, wanting to form. She held them back. If open anger was worthy of disownment, tears in public were a sight worthy of death. Her mom had sent her daughter away rather than see her mourn at the news of cancer.

"We need you to tell us what happened." The voice was Sagaku's, earnest and also a little hoarse with grief. "Kurama told us some of it, but…look, I can help, a little."

"You can't help. Someone you liked died and you ran off to be snatched up by two freaks." The man at the door muttered. The brown-haired woman behind him smacked him.

"Fine, you want to know what happened? Some black-haired freak sucked…something out of him. But first he tried it on me. So what does that tell you guys?" She settled on glaring at Koenma. He was the one who was apparently in charge of this madhouse.

"How did that happen?" Sagaku asked from the screen. Dayne frowned, but looked up the screen shrugging.

"I don't know. He bent over my dad…and…just breathed in. These weird wisps were coming from my dad's nose and mouth, kind of a grey-blue color. He breathed them in and they disappeared and then my dad was dead. It was…freezing. But the demon wasn't breathing the entire time he was there. I didn't see any puffs of air at all." Dayne trailed off, frowning.

"I wonder if he was absorbing the soul? Maybe that's what killed your father." Koenma mused out loud.

"Koenma!" It was Sagaku's voice, outraged. "Even I have more tact than that!"

"Regardless, we need to find somewhere safe to keep Dayne. I'm going to have to do some research." The toddler paced back and forth, almost knocking down a giant stack of paper.

"She can stay with us!" Sagaku offered from the screen. Then she shot a furtive look off screen where a growl came from. "Well…I thought she could. Hiei seems to think otherwise." She offered an apologetic half-smile to Dayne. It was oddly touching.

"We both reek of demons. It's gonna take months to wipe the smell of the buggers off. She won't be safe with us." The man at the door shrugged. "Sorry, girl, but I have to be honest." Dayne didn't reply, but she certainly wasn't insulted. If they wanted to keep her away from demons, that was totally fine. Their safety was at stake too.

"I'm not staying with anyone. I'm going home." Dayne lifted her chin, daring them to contradict her.

"It's not safe." Koenma said. "You have to be protected."

"I don't want to be protected." Dayne just wanted to be home, alone, where she could cry without shame.

"Stop being stubborn." Kurama said calmly from his chair. Dayne refused to look at him. "You just have to put up with one of us until Koenma gets it all figured out."

The man at the door snorted. "I feel like every time someone says something like that we get stuck with someone else." He looked pointedly at the screen. Sagaku glowered at him.

"Dayne, I know it's hard. Trust me, I do. But it will get a lot worse if you don't let us help you." Sagaku's eyes were dark and serious, hinting at sadness Dayne could only hope she wouldn't reach.

"I just want to go home." She said softly, her blue eyes scanning for any ally among the people surrounding her. "That's all I want."

"I'll take her home." Kurama stood from the chair, standing with graceful ease. "I'll stick around for a few days, and as soon as it's safe or she's made up her mind to accept our protection we'll make new arrangements." His voice left no room for argument. Dayne opened her mouth to argue anyways, but Koenma began shuffling papers on his desk.

"Perfect, perfect! I'll get people started on the research right away! OGRE!" Koenma yelled, nearly bursting Dayne's eardrum. He swept his hand sideways, and a swirling mass began opening up. "You guys go on ahead. Yusuke, you and Keiko can go through, too. I think it's close to your apartment."

Dayne, however, had other ideas. She remembered seeing that swirling mass of terror in her dreams before, and she was not setting one foot through it. No way, no how. Her face was set in a blank expression, and she fought to keep it that way.

"If you want to get home, that's the way to go." The man, Yusuke, grinned at her. He stepped into it with Keiko and promptly disappeared. What on earth was that stuff?

"I am not touching that." Dayne stated in a carefully controlled voice. There was an impatient sigh behind her, and all the sudden she was lifted into the air by her waist, and headed right at the portal she had just declared she wasn't going to touch. It opened out onto a road, close by to where she lived. She was trying too hard to fight back the rush of blood spreading across her face to tell Kurama what she was yearning to snap at him.

"Wow, Kurama, I've never seen you act so mean." Yusuke commented. "You're going to have to come see us soon, but right now I want to get Keiko home." He clapped the redhead on the shoulder and then walked away with his arm around Keiko. She waved over her shoulder, and he whistled jauntily.

"You have –" gasp for breath, "no right to touch –" another gasp, this time with air actually reaching her lungs, "me like that!" Dayne glared into the bright green eyes of the friendly face.

"You said you wanted to go home." Kurama shrugged, sticking his hands into his pockets. "I was sick of everyone trying to convince you of everything. Come on, let's get inside before any demons pay us a visit." He began striding down the street, headed for her house. Dayne felt the anger sear up in her, but it was quickly quashed down by the sobering thought of where she was headed. Back into the house. Her father had been lying there, dead, just hours before…

"I never agreed to you staying here." Dayne said, standing in front of the door as Kurama waited for her to open it.

"You don't really have a choice, I'm sorry." He gave her that damn little smile, the one that looked too practiced to be real.

_Dayne didn't know what to do, hovering over the crying demon. She was sweating, but not as badly as Sagaku. She had never had medical training past learning CPR and the Heimlich maneuver. Neither one of those would be helpful. _

_ "Get out of the way," the redhead didn't waste time with any niceties and pushed her aside. The black blur that was Hiei was dodging this way and that, protecting the three of them from danger. Demons were burning left and right. Sagaku wouldn't stop crying._

"What's it like, getting those dreams?" Kurama asked once her eyes started coming back into focus. She brushed by him into the house. He followed and closed the door. The lock slid into place. Dayne wondered if the lock had been in place the night before.

"There are blankets and extra pillows in the closet in the bathroom. Help yourself. There are two guest bedrooms on the right side of the hall. Take your pick. As long as you clean up any mess you make, you can use anything in the kitchen." Dayne tried to keep from being downright rude, but somehow she couldn't master the energy. She wanted to be rude, she wanted to cry, she wanted to scream…she did not, no matter how much her mom wanted it, want to be emotionless and suck up every ounce of hurt that was tearing her apart.

"Thank you." Kurama said politely. Dayne didn't respond, hurrying to her room. She couldn't deal with this. But she had to.

The number she dialed was long, an overseas number, but it was the only call she could think to make. She couldn't even remember what time it would be in America. The line rang at least four times before anyone picked up.

"Hello?" The voice rumbled. She couldn't tell if it sounded tired or not.

"Uncle Riley?" Dayne swallowed the lump of pain in her throat, trying not to whimper.

"Dayne? Missing us so soon?" He asked in his impeccable southern accent.

"I have some bad news." She couldn't help it if she whispered.

"Dayne, what's wrong? Did something happen to you?" He was starting to sound worried.

"Dad died." She said it, and finally the dam burst. The sobs were coming and she couldn't stop them. At least Uncle Riley wouldn't judge her.

"Shit." He swore a few more times, words that would have made Dayne giggle when she was younger. "_Shit_. Dayne, I want you to get on the first plane you can to here. You just tell me the time and I'll be there to pick you up. You can't stay there."

"Uncle Riley, I can't leave. They say I have stuff I need to take care of first, for the investigation." She tried to say between hiccups and tears.

"Well screw that! Dahlin' you can't stay there alone. And investigation? Was it a hit-and-run?" He sounded like he knew it wasn't a simple accident.

"No." She left it at that. She didn't think Uncle Riley would understand if she started talking about the wisps of colored…something.

"I'm sending Jonathan to you if you're not coming here. We'll call you with the time. Call me if anything else happens, the second it happens." Uncle Riley demanded, and then he hung up. Dayne put the phone back on its charger with shaking fingers. The tears wouldn't stop coming. They just wouldn't stop.


	11. Touching Gesture

**I'm trying to post as much as I can when I'm not busy because I'm not sure I'll have internet when I go back home. Please excuse the weird posting patterns for like the next week or so, sorry!**

**YYH is not owned and was not created by me. Dayne and all of her fun little issues were. For real.**

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**The Arrival of Friends  
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Kurama sat in one of the guest bedrooms, listening to Dayne's half of the phone conversation. She was crying. He had wondered when she would start crying. For a minute or two he harbored the thought of going in to comfort her. Then he realized she would probably murder him. There was a reason she had rushed to her room, and it was obvious that she didn't want anyone to comfort her. She probably didn't even want him to hear her. With a sigh, Kurama leaned back on the bed. The room was bland and boring. Too bad Yusuke and Keiko hadn't agreed to take her.

Dayne slept, almost. She couldn't actually force her body to shut down; instead she lay in her bed and stared at the ceiling. The tears had finally dried out, although randomly one or two more trickled from her eyes. She wished they would go away forever.

No dreams came, no demons came. Nothing. It was just a night for her to sink into her own depression, knowing that come morning she'd have to put it aside.

* * *

Kurama stood outside her door. He had been getting up and patrolling the house every few hours, checking to make sure there were no intruders. She was breathing too quietly to be asleep, and there was no noise coming from sheets. She had been awake every time he stopped outside the door. It was hard for him to try to imagine what she was going through – in the demon world he had watched many die, but he rarely felt more than a pang of despair. Even just the thought of his mother dying brought tears to his eyes, now. He wondered if that's what she was feeling.

The phone ringing broke both of them out of their revelations. Dayne picked it up, and Kurama listened to the muffled click of it leaving the receiver.

"Hello?" She muttered quietly. Either she was always that quiet, except for when she was yelling at or accusing people, or she thought he was asleep.

"Thirteen hours? … yeah, I'll pick him up. Thank you, Uncle Riley. … I know. But the farm is important too. …I promise." And then the phone clicked back down onto the receiver. The sun wasn't up yet, so Dayne settled back into bed. Kurama slowly walked back to the room he had claimed.

_

* * *

Jonathan hugged her, tears falling from his eyes. Dayne hugged him back. Kurama was there, and a heavily laden Sagaku as well. Hiei was there to keep an eye on his mate. Everyone else at the funeral was there to for her father. Dayne's hair was pulled back into a simple knot, her black pants and black shirt accentuating the dark shadows under her eyes._

_ Leaves were spreading over her father's grave, and the rose she dropped down into the pit began blooming, growing higher and higher, reaching for her…she leaned forward to see it better and lost her footing. Down she fell, down down down…and then she was tangled in a web._

_ The black-haired demon smiled at her. His lips were the same color as his skin. When he opened his mouth, a swirling mass of black and purple came spinning out, engulfing her. She opened her mouth to scream…_

Kurama rushed into the room, his rose whip already fully formed in his hand. Dayne was struggling to push the blankets off her legs, scrambling to get out of bed. She fell against him, eying her bed distrustfully.

"Was it the demon?" Kurama asked, holding her up as he scanned the room. He didn't sense anything. It must have just been a nightmare.

"No. I'm sorry." Dayne disentangled herself from Kurama, a blush spreading across her cheeks. She hadn't meant to fall into him so readily, but with the image of that demon in her head…she hadn't been thinking clearly. Bowing as she was wont to do, Dayne explained. "I didn't mean to wake you up. Did…did I scream out loud? I just had a dream, that's all."

"I wasn't sleeping." Kurama lowered his hand with the whip, letting it shrink back down into a rose. Dayne eyed it curiously but refrained from saying anything else.

"Come on, if you're not going to sleep let me make something warm for us." Kurama offered, eying her with the same curiosity she afforded the whip. Her cheeks were stained with residue from her tears, but she looked decidedly…normal. He couldn't see any other signs of her pain.

They worked in silence in the kitchen, which was an odd change for Kurama. Whenever he worked with Sagaku she asked question after question. There was no such thing as silence with her. Dayne just moved around him, settling a kettle on the stovetop to boil. He rummaged through the pans, and found a small frying pan. With the ease of much practice, he began making thin, sweet pancakes. His mother always ate them when she was feeling stressed.

The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon when they set everything at the table. Dayne pulled her mug of tea into her hands, nursing its warmth with obvious relief. When Kurama put two of the pancakes on her plate she nibbled at them, although she wasn't hungry. They were soothing in her stomach, though, taking away from the bitter taste of her tears. She had cried a lot when her mom first sent her to the farm to stay with Uncle Riley. She had only been seven, and she knew she had to stay there for a long time. It took her a while to realize why she had to stay there – her mom couldn't abide people showing emotion. Dayne had the tendency to show really strong emotions.

Even now, years later, Dayne tended to explode all at once. She wished she could be more like her mom. Despite the practice and fierce will, she just couldn't stay calm and collected. But she was going to start all over again, now.

"I'm sorry for how I acted yesterday. Please accept my apology for my rude behavior." Dayne said quietly. Kurama was beginning to think that she was a quiet person, excepting the angry outbursts directed at him.

"Don't worry about it. Obviously you're going to have quite a few trying days ahead of you." Kurama responded. He wouldn't admit it to her, but he was cautious. Maybe she was calm now, but just like any other person, he didn't exactly like when people exploded at him. It was admittedly stressful, and he was more adept at keeping his manner calm, which made it even worse. If he yelled back at her it was because he was letting a human get under his skin.

"Regardless, I am sorry." She finished eating the pancakes, and stood taking her plate to the sink where she washed it. Realizing how badly she had wanted something to do, she took the mixing bowl and pan Kurama had used and scrubbed those clean too. Then, with the air of having a mission, she began assembling cleaning supplies. If cleaning was going to make her feel better then she would take advantage of that. The house was going to sparkle by the time she was done with it.

* * *

Kurama passed the hours in the mostly-quiet house helping Dayne clean. She swept and scrubbed with a fury, Kurama was surprised to see. He had expected her to be quiet and emotionless with it. When it got close to seven in the afternoon, Dayne wiped off her hands and began heading towards her room.

"We have to go to the airport to pick up Jonathan." She told him. "We can stop by your house on the way back to pick up your stuff." Kurama wouldn't admit that he was suspicious, but he did narrow his eyes thoughtfully. Was she going to try and drive off as soon as he was in his own house?

The airport was oddly empty, and when the plane landed, Jonathan stumbled off looking around for Dayne. When his eyes met hers, and then traveled to Kurama standing next to her, she noticed an immediate change in demeanor. He only had one bag with him – a carry-on – and he swung it on to his back as he strode over. Dayne stepped forward to meet him, annoyed when Kurama stepped forward with her.

"What is _he_ doing here?" Jonathan spat, tucking Dayne under his arm as he hugged her.

"He's been…helping me. He's staying at the house because it was too empty with dad gone." Dayne's voice was muffled against her old friend's shoulder, but he stepped back eying Kurama with obvious distaste.

"Well he doesn't need to stay with you now. I'm here." Dayne warred with herself inside for a moment. On one hand, it was amusing that Jonathan was so over-protective and jealous. And not trying to kiss her. On the other hand, it was going to be problematic if he was antagonistic towards Kurama the entire time. Of course, she was completely forgetting that she spent a large portion of time being antagonistic towards the very same redhead.

"I wouldn't be able to rest easy, not being there for her." Kurama cut in smoothly. "It's a matter of pride, on my part." Once again, he used that polite voice, the one that sounded like a mask.

Dayne was still waiting at the curb when Kurama walked out of his house with a bag of his stuff. He didn't show it outwardly, but he truly was surprised. She had done a complete 180 since the day before. The only difference in the car was that Jonathan had moved to the front seat. Kurama accepted the change silently, moving into the back seat with his bag of clothes and essentials. The drive back to the house was awkward, filled mostly with Jonathan trying to make inquiries that would force Kurama out of the conversation. Once again, he accepted it silently.

"When's the funeral going to be?" Jonathan asked as they stepped out of the car.

Dayne looked at the house forlornly, wishing she didn't have to stay there. "I don't know. I haven't arranged it yet." There was a gentle touch on her shoulder, a comforting hand. Dayne turned her face slightly, expecting to see Jonathan. It was Kurama, and he smiled a little sadly at her before removing it. The three of them headed for the door, a discomforting silence settling over them.

* * *

The next few days were awkward dances of everyone trying to stay on everyone else's good sides. Jonathan and Kurama tended to bristle at each other when they thought Dayne wasn't watching, but outwardly they were polite. Dayne was mostly silent, a small frown permanently etched on her face. She kept trying to keep her face neutral, but the second she stopped focusing on it the frown was back. Kurama watched her curiously, surprised at the actions she was taking in light of her father's death. He even wondered where her mother was, but he wasn't heartless enough to bring that up.

Two days before the funeral, Benjamin and Uncle Riley showed up as well.

"What about the farm?" Dayne asked, greeting them at the door as they paid the taxi driver.

"You're more important than the farm, hunneh." Uncle Riley proclaimed, burying her in a warm hug. Benjamin took her hand and smiled sadly. There were crystalline tears forming in his eyes, but he knew her well enough to keep his mouth shut about his condolences.

"And who are ye?" Uncle Riley asked Kurama, reaching a hand out to shake. Kurama took the firm grasp in his own hand and bowed slightly to be polite.

"Kurama, sir." He avoided introducing himself as Shuichi, now that Dayne wasn't calling him that. Jonathan hadn't even noticed the switch when he got back, but Benjamin stopped for a second, confused.


	12. Funeral

**I'm about to go spend the day at the beach with like ten million cousins, so please enjoy the fact that I just took the time to post a long chapter for you =]**

**YYH is not mine…just in case you missed that the first 38349ty4489hehf9 times =P**

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Tears for the Day**

The night before the funeral was the worst. Dayne felt like she couldn't breathe, but there were no more tears to privately cry. She hadn't even dreamed in days, which in itself was scary. It was questions about her dreams that brought her to Kurama's room.

"Are they real?" She whispered to Kurama after he admitted her to the room. They both sat on the bed for lack of anywhere else to really sit. Kurama frowned as he considered her question.

"I don't know," he finally admitted, "they sound more symbolic than anything."

"I haven't dreamed in a few days."

"I know."

They both sat in silence for a few minutes. Kurama watched Dayne's brow furrow, and wondered why she was thinking of her dreams when she should be worrying about the funeral. It was times like this that made him realize how far apart he truly was from humanity – part of him was human. He understood that part, being able to love others and feeling pain. He didn't understand the way they thought though, and he certainly didn't understand Dayne's process of coping with her loss.

Dayne was thinking about the last dream she really remembered having, the one that took place at her dad's funeral. She wondered if it was worth discussing with Kurama, since it didn't necessarily mean something was going to happen. Especially if it was just symbolic. But what on earth could it be symbolic of? With the feeling of plunging into dark waters, Dayne took a breath and began spilling out the entire dream. Kurama listened with rapt attention, marveling at the matter-of-fact tone her voice never once lost. If it weren't for certain inflections and slight pauses that had nothing to do with syntax, he would have thought she was a machine.

"I don't understand all of it." Kurama admitted once again, agitated at being so helpless with all of the information, or lack thereof, he was getting. "It would help if we knew more about this demon." It was actually frustrating, not having anything on the demon. "I'll try to contact Botan or Koenma after the funeral tomorrow."

"Who's Botan?" Dayne asked. Kurama's lips formed a tight smile.

"She's basically a grim reaper, except perky beyond belief. You'll like her." Then again, with a thought spared for her bitter attitude, maybe she wouldn't. He instantly chided himself for the unkind thought. Even if he thought it was true.

"Maybe he's like a spider demon. Do they exist?" Dayne looked like she was sketching something in the air as she mouthed a few words silently. She was trying to make everything fit. If her dreams were symbolic, then the web could easily mean he was a spider demon.

"Spider demons exist. Most animals here on earth have a demonic counter-part." Kurama frowned. Maybe the man wasn't a spider demon, but it could be…

"Are you guys all animal demons?" She cocked her head to the side, her hair falling from its straight part to a slightly mussed bundle.

"Hiei isn't, and Yusuke isn't. Hiei is half ice demon, although he doesn't have any real powers from that. He takes after his father, who was a fire demon. Apparently a powerful fire demon, if Hiei's powers are any indication. Yusuke's type is a known human-eater. Ironically, he's a hanyou so he is mostly human." Kurama explained.

"But what about the rest of you?" Dayne pushed. It was relieving, her mind going blank with the final reprieve of not thinking of her dad or the next day.

"I am a kitsune – a fox demon. Or at least I was before I died. I still am, but now I keep my demon-self repressed for the most part as it makes life much easier. Sagaku is Hanshoku, which is a breeding demon. Technically, she's a rabbit demon." Kurama's eyes were hooded as he explained the different types they all fell under. A surprised snort came from Dayne at the idea that there were rabbit demons.

"So a spider demon isn't out of question. But like you said, the dreams seem more symbolic than anything…maybe it's a good thing I haven't had any for a few days. Thank you for your help." Dayne stood from the bed and bowed shortly to Kurama. He stood as well, and closed the bedroom door behind her. She had given him something to think about.

* * *

Dayne waited at the door for the four men to finish getting attired. She hadn't been able to sleep once again, so she had gotten dressed way earlier than she had to. The black dress in her closet had been overlooked as too frivolous. She was mourning her father, not making a dark statement. Instead she wore black work pants and a black blouse, with her hair twisted back in a bun. It made her look severe and surprisingly young.

Kurama and the others all wore dark dress-pants and dark shirts, and the car ride was solemn and heavy with repressed sorrow. Sagaku and Hiei were actually at the funeral home, a surprisingly touching motion. Dayne wasn't foolish enough to think that Hiei was there for her, but Sagaku gave her a warm hug with tears falling from her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She whispered into Dayne's ear, and then led her mate off to one of the back seats. Uncle Riley and Dayne made their way to the front of the room, leaving Kurama, Jonathan, and Benjamin behind them.

Kurama didn't like funerals. They didn't depress him like they did with some people – after all, passing on was a part of life – but they made him uncomfortably aware of the fact that he wasn't as humane as everyone seemed to think. Sure, he was willing to help civilians, and he wanted to protect the innocent ones. And he was quite capable of loving his family and friends. But he couldn't find the right way to truly empathize with the mourners around him. He just didn't understand it, completely.

Dayne was called on after the priest finished his ceremony. She walked to the dais, next to her dad's coffin. Pausing briefly, she passed a hand sadly over his shoulder.

"Irahu was an important man in my life." She spoke quietly into the microphone, not looking up to meet anyone's eyes. "I don't think my dad ever even realized how important he was. He was a good man, one that people will remember for the rest of their lives. He used to hand flowers out on the street, just to see people smile. When I was little I used to spend hours wondering how he fell in love with my mom, who was so different from him…but then I remember that he loved everyone. His love is what defined him. He's gone now, but I'll spend the rest of my life dreaming about him." And with that she stepped down and returned back to her seat, keeping her face hidden from everyone. Uncle Riley stood next and made his own little speech.

It was even colder than usual outside, and people were beginning to shift uncomfortably as the coffin was buried. Everyone stopped and spoke with the quiet girl and her Uncle who wasn't really an uncle. Sagaku and, by default, Hiei waited with Kurama as Dayne quietly thanked the people for coming to grieve for her father. Jonathan and Benjamin flanked Dayne like mismatched guards, and when no one else was left, they returned to the car. Dayne stayed at the fresh grave, and everyone left to give her a few minutes.

"I hope she's okay." Sagaku muttered, rubbing her cold nose against Kurama's arm.

"It's kind of you to worry." Uncle Riley said, a little sadly, as he watched the black-dressed figure from a distance. She was just standing at the grave.

"At least she has someone like you to take care of her." Sagaku said seriously. Uncle Riley nodded solemnly. Jonathan was eying her stomach with a mixed look of disgust and admiration. "Kurama, please let her know to come to me if she needs anything." Sagaku finally said. She patted her stomach and smiled wryly. "I'm afraid to risk being outside much longer."

"I will." Kurama agreed. With a small wave, Sagaku trailed by Hiei left.

"That boy is very odd." Uncle Riley said quietly. Kurama hid an unkind smile. Hiei was a little more than odd.

When Dayne rejoined them there were no signs of tears, but her hands quivered lightly. Kurama offered to drive them home, and Dayne made no comment but to slide into the passenger seat. She remained there stony and silent until they got back to the house.

"Please excuse me." And with that she disappeared into her bedroom. The four men were left in the front hall wondering what was proper to do.

"Comforting her has always been a problem." Uncle Riley sighed unhappily.

"Does she get upset often?" Kurama asked.

"Hardly ever." Jonathan said, his eyes at her closed door. "She got angry at me once for losing her kitten. That's the last time I remember her being upset. Well that and when I snuck into the bathroom, but she didn't actually raise her voice that time."

"When was that?" His father's voice took an angry turn.

"Uhm…a really long time ago. Like when we were younger." Jonathan turned beet red. Kurama had a feeling he was lying.

"She's never even gotten mad at me." Benjamin said, walking to the kitchen. The others followed.

"She got mad at me once for telling her it was okay to cry when her mother died." Uncle Riley recalled. "It's not often she gets mad, but whoo-ee, when she does it's a sight worth seeing. Very rarely see anything so pure."

"But she's not angry now, I didn't think." Kurama pointed out. They were all taking about times she had gotten mad.

"Well, son, I'm not sure if she's not mad." Uncle Riley leaned back in his chair and began regaling them all with tales of Dayne, and some of her father. If he leaked a tear or two, no one commented on it.

* * *

Uncle Riley had to leave a few days later. He was suspicious of Kurama staying at the house, but accepted Dayne's explanation that she needed company and he went to the same school as her anyways so it wasn't inconvenient for either of them. Even so, he offered to leave Jonathan there for a while longer. In the end, he ended up taking both of his sons home. Jonathan didn't try kissing Dayne again, but hugged her tightly after his brother and dad. They boarded the plane and disappeared from view.

"I'm sick of saying goodbye to people." Dayne muttered, uncharacteristically frank and rude. Kurama glanced at her, raising a perfectly formed eyebrow. "Well, it's true! It's like you're expected to mourn each time a person walks away from you. I'm mourning enough with my dad, I don't need the rest of it." She defended herself against his silent statement. Kurama sighed and swept his arm toward the exit.

"Come on, Dayne, let's get you back to the house." She obeyed his command.

"I just wish I had something to do. The house is as clean as it's going to get." She admitted. He wondered what was bringing about this downright talkative mood. At least it was talkative to how she normally was.

"Maybe we can find something." He suggested. "We do need to start going to classes again, soon. We've already missed a week and a half." It seemed like much longer though.

"I don't want to." Dayne sighed. "But I guess we should. Starting Monday, we will."

Back at the house, Kurama began filling Dayne in on everything Koenma had told him. So far, there was no name for the demon, but Koenma had been able to compile a list of possible suspects. Unfortunately, it was a respectably large list, and until they had information not received through her dreams it was a hard call to make. Dayne took the news surprisingly well. It probably had to do with her exhaustion – she still hardly slept so she didn't really have the energy to protest the existence of a demon out to get her and anything else of the kind.

That night she finally found she was too exhausted to do anything but sleep. Her eyes welcomed the relief as much as her body and mind. It was the morning, in the shower, that her next dream came.

_The black-haired demon sneered over the twisted body of Dayne. She stared up at him, keeping her lips sealed tight even as her mind begged her to scream. He wanted her soul but he couldn't take it until she surrendered it. She wouldn't scream. _

_ He went to kick her again, but this time a flowery vine sprang up from the ground, twisting lovingly around the fallen girl. The roots knocked the demon back a step, and then a silver-haired demon appeared in between the two of them. His eyes were calculating and cool, but his body was tense as he looked down at the girl. The flowers tightened as he turned back to the dark demon, and then leaves and dark forms began obscuring everything from view._

Dayne shuddered as she became aware of the water running down her body again. More than anything else, she wanted her dreams to return to normal. She wanted the mundane dreams of coming home to find her father burning something in the kitchen, or meeting her friends at the airport. The dreams of demons were just too much.

This time Dayne kept the dream to herself. She had a sinking suspicion that Kurama was the silver fox, and she wanted to think about that. Somehow she didn't think he would like hearing he was the knight-in-shining-fur in a large majority of her dreams, especially if all the flowers and vines represented him too. Plus, she didn't want to admit he starred in so many of her dreams. It was embarrassing.


	13. Minion

**I'm finally back! And with internet =D So this means I can start posting once a day or so, like usual **** Sorry for the long wait and all, but it was entirely necessary ^.^ It's the first time I've seen some of my cousins in twelve years…**

**So I still don't own YYH, despite the almost-week-long break in posting (Yes, tears here) but I do own Sagaku and Dayne and all that good stuff =P**

**Enjoy!**

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**Scales and Movement**

Returning to school was like living an entirely different life. No one there knew what happened except for the administrators. Listening to her professors felt like listening to the tv – she knew the people existed in real life, but just couldn't seem to soak in what they were saying. Sooner or later she would get back into the swing of things, though, and she had to keep taking notes and remembering her studies until then. She didn't want to fall behind and lose her dream of studying birds around the world just because her mind was preoccupied at the moment.

Kurama spent a large portion of his time watching over the girl waiting for her to break down again, but she seemed to be holding strong. And catching up on the schoolwork was giving her something to do. He was actually surprised that she was very serious about studying ornithology. It was a surprising choice, especially since she wanted to focus on tropical birds. She was so unflashy herself that he would have pegged her for pre-med or law. After about a week of being back in class, he moved back in to his mom's house. There was no activity around her and as long as he stayed with her in the afternoon he saw no reason to make them both uncomfortable.

Dayne surprised him one afternoon by asking him to invite Sagaku over.

"I think I want to be around another girl for a while, and I feel like none of the girls from school are going to relate well." She told the redhead, hiding her expression behind her bland mask as always. Kurama complied, and Sagaku and Hiei arrived in time for dinner.

"You guys enjoy your time here. We'll be in Dayne's room." Sagaku told the two men after dinner, and then stood up smiling as she beckoned for Dayne to lead the way. Dayne smiled slightly and led the spunky girl to her boring room where the two sat. Sagaku, Dayne noticed and remained grateful for, sat in the chair by her desk. She was ridiculously possessive of her bed. "So how are you holding up?" Sagaku asked Dayne, her dark eyes holding a wealth of compassion.

"It's easier when I'm busy with schoolwork. And learning about demons and everything takes away from the edge of losing him, sort of. I still think that what happened in my dream is true, though. I think that my dad died because of me." Dayne frowned, glad to get rid of her emotionless façade, if even for a few seconds.

"My friends, Ned and Sam, died because of me, too." Sagaku told Dayne. "We never really found out what it was they died hiding, either. Large portions of their research were stolen when they died."

"It hurts." Was Dayne's simple reply. Sagaku nodded in total agreement.

"What about being watched over by Kurama? Is it as annoying as it was for me? He wouldn't let me sleep with him ever." Sagaku laughed at the shocked expression on Dayne's face. "I don't mean it in that way. Has he told you what kind of demon I am?" When Dayne nodded, Sagaku continued. "Part of being Hanshoku means I need a lot of physical contact. It's just natural and I get super cranky and half-insane without it. Kurama has moral issues with sleeping with people if he's not attached to them in a romantic way." She giggled like the idea was absolutely absurd.

"He's okay…I don't like how he's always so polite and nice, though. I actually don't really like him much at all. We get along, but I feel like if he had left me alone none of this would have happened. What about you and Hiei? No offense, but he seems like a total killer." Dayne leaned forward from the bed, hungry for normal conversation. She was hungry for as normal of a conversation as she could have with a demon breeder, anyways.

"The boys were hired to watch over my sisters and I so we couldn't be used to form a small demon army. Actually, considering how many of us there are, it would be a pretty large army. I don't really know how Hiei and I happened, except that we used each other and it became real. It just did happen. And I'm surprised you get that from Kurama." Sagaku paused to take a breath and think. "I kind of get where you're coming from. But he really is friendly and loving. I think you took all of them off guard though. Kurama is used to people immediately taking to him, and here you do not entirely trust him. Hiei was expecting you to be a weak human, but he can't even read your thoughts. Yusuke didn't even know about you until he ran into you at Koenma's office when he came back, and Kuwabara was just shocked that you didn't forget the attack you were supposed to."

"It's not that I don't trust him," Dayne protested, "I just don't feel like he's honest with me." She paused, breathing out a frustrated noise. "Not that he's lying, more like he's not being himself. I hate people hiding behind polite comments and courteous smiles."

"No offense," Sagaku gave a twisted smile, "but isn't that what you do?"

"Well, yeah." Dayne admitted. Sagaku was twisting her hair with one finger, and her other hand was resting on her stomach with a protective air. "Maybe that's why I hate it so much."

* * *

The next day, Dayne studied Kurama wondering if that's really what she was like. After a while she came to the conclusion that she wasn't as good at being polite and courteous and hiding what she truly felt. Kurama never seemed to slip up. She was always making little mistakes or exploding.

Kurama noticed Dayne watching him, but he didn't say anything. Whatever she was thinking about she would tell him if it was important. She was good about that much, at least, even if he still thought she was a little stony. Seeing her interact with Sagaku had made him wonder about that, though. Maybe she was just stony with him. It seemed unfair, if that were the case. Later that day her observations of him were brought to a screeching halt. A demon came calling as they worked around each other silently in the kitchen.

_The demon had hard, scaly lips and unevenly formed skin. His mouth opened large and he breathed out something putrid. A green whip was twisting around the silver fox standing in front of him. Dayne had been right: the silver fox was Kurama. The demon took a giant leap into the house, reaching out for Dayne who stumbled backwards – _

Dayne crashed against the table and hissed in surprised pain. Kurama was engaging the demon, but Dayne was left to dodge random limbs in the confinement of the kitchen. There was no way for her to get out of the room, and she was too tall to be anything but in the way. Kurama's face didn't change while he fought, she realized as she watched the battling demons. It was eerie. But her musings were brought short as she had to dodge the demon as he lost his footing. The thorny whip was wrapped around his ankles.

"Who sent you?" Kurama looked down at the patched demon.

"Master, he wanted to know if she would fight." The demon gasped. He didn't sound like he particularly wanted to be there. "He didn't say you would."

"Who is your master?" Kurama asked in his totally calm voice.

"He's th-" but the demon choked off, clutching his throat with yellow-nailed hands. His eyes began to bulge, and then red wisps began floating up from his scaly lips. He died as they watched.

"I wish I could just faint." Dayne tried not to whimper. Her hip was definitely bruised from the table. Kurama didn't even look like his hair was out of place.

"Why?" Kurama looked up, surprised. He had been staring at the dead demon intently.

"Because then I could wake up and pretend I didn't remember any of this." Dayne admitted, gesturing weakly at the dead non-human laying across the kitchen floor.

"If my own memory serves, you don't forget things easily." Kurama said with an easy grin. Dayne stared at it, realizing this was one of his rare, real smiles. He was…happy? Even though the demon had just died? But then…wasn't she happy, too, that it had died? When it came down to it, it was them or the demon…And she could totally feel a headache coming on.

"I have to report to Koenma. Come with me to the other room, in case another demon gets in the house." Kurama ordered as he headed down the hall. Dayne turned off the stove and trotted after him, skirting furtively around the dead lump of soulless-death. Something about having a dead demon in her kitchen just felt wrong.

Koenma didn't act surprised at all with the information Kurama gave him. Dayne stood by the door awkwardly, still not at ease with the well-articulated toddler.

"Of course he has minions!" Koenma was telling Kurama. "Be expecting others. He probably won't show up until the very end."

Kurama closed the communicator and grinned wryly at Dayne. "He's sending a clean-up crew. It's usually Sagaku and Hiei who need the crew, but I won't complain. Having a dead demon in the kitchen isn't exactly pleasant."

"No," Dayne agreed emphatically, "No it isn't."

Dayne sat in her room that night, afraid to sleep. While having dreams again was kind of nice because she was afraid she had lost a part of herself with her dad, it was also stressful. She didn't want to have to interpret the weirdness contained in them. Plus, who knew when the 'Master' would send more of his minions to go get her. Kurama was acting very confident and rational, but he _was_ a demon. She was just a human; she didn't belong in a mess like this!


	14. I Vant to Suck Your Soul

**So, thank you everyone who reviews =] I totally appreciate it =P Especially Wistful Sin who reviews almost all of them, haha ^.^ (By the way – go read her stories if you haven't yet. I just finished, and zomg!) **

**And now, for your very favorite bit of script ever: I (Favorite Character) hereby relinquish any claim (that I never had anyways) on YYH and its characters.**

**Enjoy =]**

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A New Life**

The weeks were beginning to pass quickly, slowly falling back to normal living. Dayne was getting used to living alone, although she really didn't like it at all. Sagaku came over and visited frequently, and with her came Hiei, but Kurama was starting to spend less and less time at her house. If she wasn't craving company so badly, she wouldn't have cared.

The day that Sagaku couldn't come over came later than they both expected – the week of midterms she called, panting heavily in the phone.

"Dayne! My water just broke." There was a surprised gasp and something clattered to the floor. "Oops, I need to go lay down. The doctors are getting upset." Sagaku tried to giggle, but Dayne heard a little bit of panic in her voice.

"Sagaku…just…tell Hiei to keep an eye out. I had a dream about demons attacking you two while you were injured. It might have been this." But she didn't know if Sagaku had heard her because the phone hung up only seconds after.

* * *

With nothing to do for the afternoon, Dayne sat down at her desk and began jotting down everything that had happened. With the exception of two demon attacks, a third demon chasing her through school, copious amounts of dreams, and another possible demon attack resulting in her father's death, she didn't have much to go by. It almost seemed like Koenma had made too big a deal out of the entire thing. Dayne frowned at that thought; while she didn't want trouble by any means, it had been kind of exciting thinking that there was something about her that was valuable. She wished she could be valuable without the dangerous aspect of demons. Actually, scratch that. If she was going to make wishes, she wished she was six again and her mom had never been diagnosed with cancer.

While Dayne was trying to keep herself busy, Sagaku and Hiei were attacked. Luckily Sagaku had managed to get what Dayne was saying, and she had passed the information on to Hiei. Hiei was surprisingly upset about missing the birth of his first son, but Dayne's dream hadn't led them false. Two demons had attacked while Sagaku was prone. Hiei had taken care of them, but by the time he was able to return to the birthing room, Sagaku was exhausted and hoarse, her arms cradling a bloody bundle against her body.

Kurama, Kuwabara, Yukina, Usagi, and Keiko were all informed immediately of the baby's sex. A name hadn't been chosen yet. No one thought to call Dayne.

_

* * *

The baby was a healthy boy, with fine black hair on his head. His eyes were too squinted to make out a color. Before Dayne could get a good look at the baby boy, though, the picture began zooming away leaving her in black. There was something pacing around her in the black – she could hear the sound of it scraping against the floor. An icy-cold claw touched against her cheek._

Dayne jolted awake, warm blood rushing up to her face. The icy-cold claw in her dream had turned to an icy-cold finger in real life.

"You, my dear, are slowly seeing better. Amazing how the dreams are beginning to come into focus, isn't it? At best, three months ago you could hope for something interesting to think about. Now, you get almost the exact event…" His voice was orotund, charming…and absolutely terrifying. Dayne wished her red cheeks weren't giving away her fear, because she managed not to scream or even gasp. Heck, her face hadn't even twitched.

"Who are you?" She asked. Her mother would have been proud to hear that her voice wasn't even quavering, despite the fact that her heart was beating faster than a hummingbird's wings.

"Ah, dear, that's not for you to know yet. You see, I'm just culturing you for now. I'm not ready to pluck your soul." His skin was pale white, tinged with light blue shadows. His eyes were the black pits she had seen in the dream. And he was standing close enough to her that she could feel the frigid puffs of air blow across her face as he talked.

"Why me?" That time she squeaked, but she still maintained her stony stance. She wasn't going to give him the pleasure of knowing he scared her. Well, he could actually probably tell if his satisfied smile was an indicator, but she didn't need to feed that pleasure.

"You're human enough for me to take your soul, but with a demonic background. The power I will get from you will be intoxicating. And if I absorb your power of dreaming as well…it will certainly be worth the wait." He closed his eyes in pure bliss. Dayne's knees were starting to shake. "Ah, dear, don't be frightened yet. You can keep your soul…for a little longer." And then he disappeared, leaving Dayne shaking in her bedroom. If she hadn't been standing, she would have fallen. So much for wishing she was six again. Right now she was willing to wish that she had never been born.

Her fingers shook as she called Kurama's phone, but he didn't answer. The answering machine clicked on, and Dayne left a shaky report of what had happened. There was nothing for her to do in the meantime but wait – either wait for protection or wait for the soul-sucker to decide he was just going to eat her soul then and there. It was only that thought that made Dayne realize she needed a line of defense…something, anything…

* * *

Everyone was in Sagaku and Hiei's apartment, celebrating. Sagaku was tired, but she had one night before the hospital would release her baby's care to her and Hiei. She wouldn't complain – all she could do at the moment was sit in the chair and drink soup broth.

"We should invite Dayne." She smiled happily, leaning her sore body back onto her mate. He wrapped his arms gently around her.

"Hn, if that's what you want." Hiei agreed. He would give her anything at the moment, he was that proud.

Kurama, hearing the comment, frowned prettily. He hadn't even thought about calling the girl, although he should have. He just couldn't get over her attitude – she came to him with questions, and listened to his answers, but it was like she had no soul. She just didn't care about anything he was telling her. It was infuriating. Even so, he shouldn't have forgotten to call her, and he knew that.

"I'll call her." He volunteered, trying to assuage his guilt. He didn't need to feel guilty, he told himself, because she wasn't really friends with any of them but Sagaku anyways…

His cell phone was blinking when he dug it out of his pocket, and flipping it open he realized he had missed a call from the very girl he was about to contact. He had a voicemail from her. Curious, he decided to listen to it before he called her. After all, she wouldn't want to repeat herself. And she was probably just calling to see if everything went okay with Sagaku and the baby.

"Kurama, I know everyone is very busy and excited about Sagaku's baby, and I'm very sorry to call during such an important time. The man – demon – from my dream was just here. He didn't hurt me, he just talked to me. He…he wants to cultivate my soul but he's waiting to harvest it, from what I understand. Please call me back when you get the time."

Sagaku was frowning at the look on Kurama's face, but she didn't even attempt to stand. She hadn't even wanted to walk out of the hospital, except that the doctors were too pushy and rude.

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

"I need to go check up on Dayne, I think. She left a message on my phone." Kurama swallowed, his guilt beginning to grow. Part of him hated being human enough to feel guilt.

"Is it important?" Yusuke wanted to know from where he stood arguing with Kuwabara.

"It's the first time she's called me about anything and she said she had a visit from a demon. I think it's important." Kurama strode to the door. "Sagaku, Hiei, call me if you need anything. I'm going to go make sure Dayne is alright."

"Wait, man, I'll come with you." Yusuke ruffled Keiko's hair and headed to the door as well. "Just in case the demon is still there with buddies."

"Thank you." Kurama murmured, and then they were on their way.

"So who is this girl, anyways? I only saw her that one time." Yusuke asked his friend, leaning back in the passenger seat of Kurama's car.

"She's a human with some undefined power. We found her accidentally, and when we tried to erase her memory after a demon's attack she retained all memories. Hiei can't read her mind. She's been dreaming of some demon following her around, which turns out is legitimate." Kurama kept his eyes on the road as he answered, although there were few drivers out due to the late hour.

"How come she doesn't hang out with everyone? What, does the punk think she's too good for us?" Yusuke questioned, cracking his knuckles. Kurama had to grin at that. Some things just wouldn't change.

"She's just distant. The only person she really gets along with is Sagaku." Kurama admitted.

Yusuke whistled, and then laughed. "You mean she doesn't even like lovable old you? That must be a blow to the ego." He laughed again at the idea.

Kurama frowned, wondering if that was exactly why he didn't like the girl that much. He had hated having so many followers in high school, and even in college girls fell all over him. Maybe the fact that Dayne absolutely would not treat him that way was hurting his ego. It was certainly something to think about.

All of the lights in the house were on, but the door was locked and Kurama couldn't hear Dayne moving around inside.

"Is she even here?" Yusuke asked, looking at the small, well-kept house.

"I think so." Kurama surveyed the door, and then with a shrug he opened it and stepped inside. Yusuke followed. Nothing happened. He stepped into the hallway, and pushed the door to her bedroom open. Kurama, who had heard a rustle of movement last second, dodged to the side. Yusuke, who didn't have any warning, was hit square in the chest with the base of an unplugged lamp.

"Oof!" He grunted, and then cursed heavily after he hit the wall from staggering backwards. Dayne was standing in the doorway, a dull blush spreading over her cheeks again.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, bending down to help Yusuke up, "I thought you were intruders. Please forgive me."

"That hurt!" Yusuke glared at her. And then he grinned ruefully. "But I guess that was the point. Nice arm."

"I am very, very sorry. Can I get you some ice?" She was purposely not acknowledging Kurama. It stung that he hadn't responded back to her until four hours later. If anything had happened…well she could have been dead.

"No, I'm okay. So you're Dayne, I guess. You were…snapping and kind of angry the last time I saw you." Yusuke squinted his eyes and turned his head to the side, scrutinizing the girl. She stood calmly and let him.

"So what happened, exactly?" Kurama asked, leaning against her doorframe. He wasn't going to let her silent snub get to him. That's what he was telling himself, anyways.

"Well, you guys didn't tell me you were coming, so when I heard the front door open –"

"I mean when the demon was here." Kurama interrupted, smiling politely as her eyes met his angrily. Her eyebrows tugged down a minuscule centimeter. She didn't shoot a snide comment at him though, and just repeated the events. Yusuke listened with rapt attention, because Kurama hadn't given him any details in the car.

"Wait, so you mean when you dream it really happens? Have you had any dreams about me?" He asked her as soon as she was done explaining the short encounter.

"No, I'm afraid I haven't had any dreams about you. And the dreams don't really happen, always. They've been becoming a little less symbolic and more realistic, but only the ones that are happening at the same time or almost the same time as the actual event. I think the demon thinks that's going to change. I think that's what he's waiting for." Dayne was standing straight, but her posture slouched for a moment before she shook her head and straightened up again.

"I wonder how long that will take." Kurama mused.

"You know, the demon isn't here right now. I just called so if something happened you would know." Dayne turned her blue eyes back to Kurama. "I know you all must be busy with Sagaku and Hiei and the baby. Please pass on my congratulations." It was an icy dismissal, despite the fact that she was struggling to stay polite. Kurama and Yusuke were both shocked by the coldness that came from her voice. She sounded hurt, behind the icy façade.

"Here, take my number too." Yusuke walked right into her room, and finding her desk, he scrawled his number on a piece of paper. "That way if you can't reach Kurama next time you can call me."

"Thank you, I appreciate it." Dayne bowed to him, and then to Kurama. It was a dismissal, and neither of them was dumb enough to ignore it this time.

Dayne waited until they were gone and then locked the door again. She cursed herself for being too proud to want them there, but after seeing them together…and the fact that they had all been so busy that they hadn't been able to respond when she called? She had dialed Kurama right after the demon had left. It was as soon as she had been able to. Not that she begrudged Sagaku her friends and their celebration, it just hurt that she wasn't good enough friends with any of them but Sagaku to get invited. And it hurt even worse because she knew it was her fault.

"Should one of us stay? In case the demon comes back?" Yusuke asked Kurama, looking at the tidy little house. Kurama shrugged, trying to keep his mind from straying from going back to be with Sagaku and Hiei. That's where he needed to be right now, not feeling guilty over the overly-distant, hurting girl.

"No, I don't think that's necessary." Kurama finally answered, and opened up his car door. Yusuke got in reluctantly as well, still watching the house.

"She's…cold." Yusuke finally said. "She seems nice, but in a bitchy way."

"She is." Kurama answered, but he was already driving down the road. Yusuke snorted.

"Kurama, you just agreed that a girl is bitchy." He grinned evilly, lightly punching Kurama's arm. "You're finally starting to get into the swing of things!"

"No, I didn't mean like she's a bitch, I just meant that –" But Kurama never got to explain what he really meant, because Yusuke was laughing too loudly to talk over. With a sigh, Kurama just fell silent.


	15. Trial

**Hello, dearest readers! I spent an hour today with a seven year old playing with my hair. It was both relaxing and amusing haha.**

**But yeah, chapter 15, enjoy ^.^ And at first I didn't like this story because I don't like Dayne as much as Sagaku, but now..she's growing on me =P And I feel like I have a better plot going here, it's just not as frivolous and light-hearted haha.**

**So yeah, estoy llorando muy mucho, YYH isn't mine!**

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* * *

Guilty of Not Trying**

Dayne puttered around the house, eying each room to make sure there was something she could use as a weapon if she needed to. There was even the thought in the back of her head that she should get some pepper spray, but she didn't know where she would find that. It didn't matter, though, because nothing happened for the rest of the night.

Standing in front of the mirror, Dayne frowned. Her sleeping habits had become horrible since her dad died, and it was showing. There were dark shadows bagging under her eyes, and her face was drawn. She had recently lost weight, which was unacceptable, and her skin looked much paler than it usually did. With a sigh, she turned to her room. Sleep did sound kind of good at the moment. If a demon took her because she was unaware, well so be it. She fell into her bed, pulling her pillow against her chest as she hugged it. The sun was already inches past the horizon, but she ignored it and fell asleep, letting the morning hours lull her into dreams.

* * *

Koenma, after congratulating the two demons on their familial addition, demanded the presence of Kurama and Yusuke once the sun was well into the sky.

"I've conducted some research," the toddler began, "and come up with a few things."

"You know which demon is stalking her?" Kurama asked.

"Well, no." Koenma admitted.

"Then why," Yusuke let out a huge yawn, "are we here at the crack of dawn, kid?"

"It's almost noon." Koenma glared at his Spirit Detective, and then turned back to Kurama. "I don't have anything new on the demon that she's been dreaming about. But I do have some information regarding Dayne Ippin."

"Wait, why would you have information on her?" Yusuke let out another huge yawn, this time cracking his jaws. "She's just a human."

"She does have some abnormalities, but Yusuke is right. Why would you have information on her?" Kurama agreed with his greasy-haired friend as the two of them stared at Koenma, waiting for answers.

"Dayne is human, yes, but not entirely. Almost like you, Yusuke, except her family suppressed most of their demonic heritage. Nemuri Ippin, half-demon, was taken down over two centuries ago. She had two sons, both of which with demonic tendencies. They went to revenge their mother, and in the process, they both died as well. However, one of them had a chance to pass along his genes. Without a demon father, the child grew up under a human roof and turned out relatively normal. He aged a little slower than his peers, but he had a daughter and a son. And so on so forth. Dayne's father descended from Nemuri Ippin's line. I traced it all the way down to Dayne." Koenma sat back smugly, waiting for the two men to say something.

"Well…if they're not really demons, then why is this demon after Dayne?" Yusuke asked, scratching his head. "And, hey! What exactly was this demon able to do?"

"I've heard of Nemuri Ippin," Kurama said slowly, "but I think I heard of her as the 'Sleeping Beauty.'"

"Yes, yes!" Koenma nodded, "That was her!"

"And?" Yusuke prompted.

"She was a famed fighter, actually. They called her Sleeping Beauty because it was almost impossible to take her by surprise, even in her sleep. She could dodge and attack, seeing her enemies' intents in her dreams. Even if it was just a dream, if she could change it then she could change the outcome of the event." Kurama pondered for a moment. "I guess we should have seen the similarities."

"Speak for yourself," Yusuke grumbled, "I just met her."

"There's more to it." Koenma shuffled some papers on his desk. "You see, with everyone beginning to settle down with families now, I need a new Spirit Detective. I was thinking maybe Dayne could be trained as one."

"She's the same age as us, Koenma. She'll be settling down soon, too." Kurama pointed out. Yusuke was frowning thoughtfully.

"Too bad that jerk from school decided he didn't want to be Spirit Detective." He said. "Maybe you should start surveying all the students again, find someone younger with power. You won't find one as strong as me, though." He grinned widely, stabbing at his chest with his thumb.

"Maybe. I was hoping she would." Koenma sighed. "Perhaps I'll keep the next generation of her line in mind."

* * *

Yusuke accompanied Kurama to Dayne's house again, this time complaining about everyone settling down. It was like the group was falling apart – which it wasn't – but all the sudden everyone had babies.

"Even the Shrimp! I mean, I'm happy for him, but how did that happen?" Yusuke ranted.

"Well…you know how Sagaku is." Kurama grinned fondly.

"Ha, yeah. That's true." Yusuke rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "She is kind of pushy."

The house was silent again, and no one answered when Yusuke pounded loudly at the front door. They waited a minute, and then Yusuke shrugged, and pointed his index finger at the lock. "I guess popping in unexpected is the best we can do." He said as he shot a small amount of energy into the keyhole. The door popped open.

"She won't be able to lock that now." Kurama eyed his errant friend. Yusuke just shrugged and started looking around.

"Hey, Dayne, don't hit us again! It's me and Kurama!" Yusuke called into the house. There was no answer.

The two men walked through the hall again, headed towards Dayne room. The door was closed, but Kurama twisted it open and peeked in, ready to dodge any missiles she might be preparing to throw. He almost laughed. Here he and Yusuke were, getting ready to tear the house down to figure out where she was, and she was in bed sleeping. He stepped into the room to wake her up.

"Dayne," he called softly, not wanting to startle her awake. Yusuke crept into the room behind him, looking at the furniture and blank walls with a mild expression of distaste. She rolled over in her sleep and muttered something.

_It was a courtroom, with high marble walls and cold, solid benches. Dayne watched as one person after another went up to the stands. The judge kept calling guilty and the figures were dragged away before they even had a chance to defend themselves. She wondered what their accused crimes were. They didn't look like bad people to her._

_ The judge was a cloaked figure, and the tall walls were meant to accommodate him. She was beckoned forward, and with a small amount of surprise she walked up to the stand._

_ "Guilty." The judge decreed._

_ "Guilty of what?" Dayne tried asking. _

_ "Guilty of not trying." And then she was dragged off the stand, being pushed into a dark room to wonder what it was she hadn't tried. A familiar demon was in there, and he grinned and licked his lips pleasurably._

_ "Ah, dear. I'm glad you could join me. I've waited too long, you're mine now." His lips parted and he started sucking in a large breath of air._

_ "Dayne?" That voice was familiar, but she couldn't respond when she was so busy trying to cling on to her soul._

_ "Dayne, wake up." Wake up? But she was awake…_


	16. Another Visit

**Soooo stressed right now. I'm not even getting half the financial aid I was getting last year and now I have to take out a ridiculous loan . I really feel like I'm about to cry. But, regardless of all that, here's a lovely chapter for you guys! And against my wishes, my ownership does not extend to YYH. **

**Enjoy!**

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* * *

Disappearing Act**

Dayne's eyes opened up, searching her room to find the voice. It was Kurama, and the other man with the slicked-back hair, Yusuke. The fact that they were in her room made her insides clench angrily, and she could feel that stupid blush she never seemed rid of spreading across her cheeks.

"Can I help you?" Dayne asked politely, sitting up and pulling the blanket up to cover her chest. It seemed silly to do that, because she was wearing a respectable tee-shirt, but it was natural for her to do so.

"That must have been some dream. You wouldn't wake up." Yusuke swung her chair away from the desk and plopped down in it. "So what was up with it?"

"There was a courtroom with some really important judge." Dayne cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the huskiness that came with sleep. "Could you excuse me for a moment? I think I need a drink." She stood, skirting around the two men. "Can I get you guys something?" She offered, and when they both shook their heads no she disappeared from the room.

She stopped by the bathroom first to brush her hair and teeth, not that she wanted to care what the two men thought of her, but at the same time…she had found that she did want to be their friends. Being friends with Sagaku just wasn't enough, she was hungry for more. And last night had been inexcusable, she had no right to blow up on them like that. She had to improve her act if she wanted them to actually like her. It had just been such a long time since she'd had to spend energy on making friends…but now, without her dad or mom, and with Jonathan, Benjamin and Uncle Riley in America, who else did she have?

Despite the fact that she knew being polite wasn't going to help anything, she didn't even know what else to do. And being woken up from such an important-feeling dream wasn't helping at all. What hadn't she tried hard enough? Did it have to do with her dreams? Because the fact that the dark, icy demon had been there right after, claiming he was going to eat her soul then and there…well, it couldn't have been a coincidence.

Dayne walked back down the hall to her room with a tray and three glasses of water. Just because they had said they didn't want any didn't mean they wouldn't in a minute or two.

"I'm sorry, I was really thirsty." Dayne apologized. Kurama was sitting against her desk with his arms in his pockets casually. "I brought you guys some water, just in case." She put the tray down next to them and took her own water to her bed where she sat down. "May I ask why you're here so early? Is it Sagaku's baby? Are they okay?"

"The baby is fine. It's a little boy. But we're here because Koenma finally found something." Yusuke laughed. "How long did he make you wait, first?"

"Something about the demon?" Dayne leaned forward excitedly. Maybe they'd be able to clear this whole mess up.

"No, something about you, actually." Kurama answered, and then proceeded to explain. Dayne listened with rapt attention while Yusuke poked around her desk drawers. She didn't even mind that he was totally invading her privacy.

"That's interesting." Dayne commented when Kurama finished. "Do you think that's what the demon meant when he implied there was more to the dreams?"

"Yes, it's quite possible." Kurama smiled wryly. "I guess we don't know for sure, though."

"Well, I just had a dream about being judged by some giant person for not trying hard enough. Maybe there's more to it than just dreaming it. You said this 'Sleeping Beauty' was able to control herself in the dreams and outside of them?" Dayne asked. Kurama nodded.

"Of course, that's just legend." He shrugged. Yusuke looked like he had fallen asleep after he was out of drawers to look through, and he let out a timely snore.

"No, it makes sense. It's happened once or twice now. Remember when the demon attacked in the kitchen? I fell against the counter because I was trying to move backwards, but the thing is, I was dreaming at the time. It even left a bruise." Dayne was leaning forward, hoping that if she could take control of the dreams they would stop being so nightmarish. "And my dreams got really funky after I met you, because you were a demon. I kept dreaming you were sprouting leaves and Hiei was on fire. It was weird."

"That does raise another question, though: are you dreaming about things you know subconsciously or things you don't know at all?" Kurama pointed out.

"It could be either. I didn't dream about you guys until I met you, but I dreamed about Sagaku and several other demons before knowing them." Dayne was still leaning forward, her bright blue eyes sparkling intently. Yusuke let out another snore.

"Indeed." Kurama took a sip from one of the cups on the tray, trying not to look at her bright eyes. It was unnerving and reminded him of what Yusuke had said the night before in the car. "Maybe we can train you to use the dreams to your advantage?"

"How?" Dayne asked. She couldn't make herself dream, it just happened.

"Well, the next time you're with one of us and you have a dream, really focus on moving in real life. Maybe it will help." Kurama nodded sagely.

"I guess we'll just have to wait, then. I'm sorry it's inconvenient." Dayne smiled a little sadly.

"You know, you don't always have to apologize." Kurama told the girl. "It's not always your fault."

"I know." Her smile faded. Apologizing was a part of being polite. Her mother had taught her that.

"Look, I think I have an apology to make. Last night Sagaku asked us to invite you, but when we got here we were distracted by what had happened. It was rude of us, and I'm sorry." Kurama stood up from where he was sitting on the desk, holding out a hand to shake. Dayne took it, and as she did, another dream fell upon her.

_Vines crept over her fingers, moving up her wrist. Kurama looked at them curiously, and then looked around. Dayne glanced warily from side to side, sure that some scary demon was lurking nearby. She didn't see anyone else. The vines were slowly wrapping over her shoulders, traveling down her sides._

_ "Are you controlling the vines?" Kurama asked, sounding mildly amused._

_ "No. They do things like this in most of my dreams involving you." Dayne answered distractedly as she turned to see if there was anything behind her. Nothing, literally nothing._

_ "I didn't know you could…cast your dream. If I let go will I wake up?" Kurama asked, his fingers tightening over her own._

_ "I don't know. Let's not test that, just in case." Dayne turned back to him, frowning as she looked down at their awkwardly clasped hands. "I don't get it. It's like a dream, but…nothing is happening." _

_ An eerie laugh followed Daine's words, traveling around the two of them. The vines wrapped protectively around her chest, pulling her a step closer to Kurama. He was looking around too, his left hand going to his hair, reaching for the rose hidden below the red locks._

_ "Is that the man?" He asked, his own green gaze casting around faster than her own._

_ "I don't know. Maybe." Something was materializing around them._

"Did you both just dream? How did that happen? I tried grabbing your arm too, but nothing happened!" Yusuke was yammering, both excited and angry.

"Has that ever happened before?" Kurama asked Dayne. He noticed that the rose was not in his hand, despite the fact that he had pulled it out in the dream. Dayne was also not a step closer to him.

"No. I mean, I'm not really touchy-feely, but even when someone pats my shoulder or something when I'm dreaming, nothing really happens." Dayne let go of Kurama's hand, pulling hers back to her body and rubbing it with her other hand. It had been extraordinarily odd to have someone else in a dream with her…and they were the ones reacting. It wasn't like a predetermined dream.

"So what happened?" Yusuke asked, pushing in front of Kurama.

"Nothing, really. We heard someone laughing, but we didn't see anything." Kurama answered, grinning wryly at the detective's enthusiasm. Despite that, he had to suppress a shiver. Being in the dream had been uncomfortable. It was uncharted territory.

"Huh. Well that's boring." Yusuke grunted, sitting back down. "I swear, I fall asleep for one second and then you guys get sucked up into Oz."

"I forgot trying to move in real life." Dayne frowned.

"That might be easier if you have someone in real life to watch over you, to see if you do move." Kurama pointed out. "We'll have to try that next time."

"Yes. We will have to." Dayne turned to the two boys. "No offense, but, I think I need a while alone. I noticed something in that dream and I want to think about it."

"Fine, fine. Kick us out." Yusuke grumbled as he stood again. Dayne walked with the two men to the front door, holding it open for them.

"Thank you for coming to give me the information. I appreciate it. And please tell Sagaku I said congratulations on the little boy. And Hiei!" Dayne was fairly pushing them out the door, but she was doing it with a smile on her face. The dream hadn't exactly been comforting, but she learned something new. And each step forward was one less thing to feel guilty about. She was trying something new, and she would get it all figured out, sooner or later. As long as the soul-sucker didn't kill her first.

The two men filed out of the house and got back into the car, leaving Dayne in her lonely house to think. She paused outside her dad's room, allowing for a second of sadness to crash over her as she ran her hand lightly over the door. It hadn't been so lonely when he was there.

Dayne headed back to her room and sat still on her bed to think about what had just happened. Sometimes, if a person touched her it would trigger a dream. It had happened a few times, and usually the dreams were only a few seconds long. Hardly long enough for the other person to notice. What had made this time different? Was it that they had been in physical contact for more than a few seconds? Or perhaps that it had been so deliberate, Kurama extending his hand and her reaching out to take it. It could even be that it was because Kurama was a demon. As far as she knew, she didn't have contact with that many demons.

"Yes, dear, what is it that made him so special?" Dayne whirled around, heat flushing up to her face as the normal signal for her panic. The dark-haired demon was standing beside her window, idly toying with a fine silver button on his richly embroidered black cloak.

"What are you doing here?" Dayne asked, getting ready to throw herself off the bed and into the hallway the second he made any sign of movement.

"Oh, relax. I'm not going to kill you yet, you don't have enough power." His rich, mellow voice washed over her, making her shudder as she tried to remain focused. "Ah, you have such emotion." He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Without appearing to move, he was suddenly hovering over her on the bed, carefully not touching her but trapping her nonetheless. "You're like a volcano, dear. When do you think you'll next explode?"

"Get off me." Dayne whispered, leaning away from him and trying to pull herself from under him without actually brushing by the cold hands.

"I'm not touching you. Just examining. Today sparked a whole new level in you, dear. I want to taste it." His tongue poked out from between his lips, surprisingly red against the pale skin.

Dayne pushed at his shoulders as hard as she could, and then rolled off the bed. The phone was almost in her reach, but then he was there, simply standing in her way. His dark, depthless eyes stared down at her, black as onyx. He did absolutely nothing. Dayne's chest was rising and falling rapidly, her breathing becoming rather sporadic.

"That's not very polite. You're usually so good with courtesies." The demon finally said, and then disappeared. Dayne collapsed with her back to the wall, pulling the phone and the receiver down to her level. Her fingers pushed the numbers in.


	17. A Lesson Learned

**So I got my financial aid mostly fixed! I can't even begin to tell you how much that relieves me. But, aside from my personal business I want to say thank you to everyone who reviewed! There's a few people who review frequently (WistfulSin and Rokkugoh) plus a few people who just left me one or two, but either way, you all make me super duper happy =P And I appreciate it a lot =]**

**And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for: I don't own YYH! Just in case you never guessed ;) **

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* * *

The First Step Forward**

"Kurama is driving, Dayne. He can't talk on the phone. Did you forget to tell us something?" Yusuke asked. Dayne forgot they had hardly been gone for ten minutes. It seemed like it had been ten hours ago.

"The demon was just here, Yusuke." Dayne whispered. Part of her was crying to pull herself together, to stand up and face the mess. The other part of her was telling her that whatever game the demon was playing with her was dangerous, and hiding behind someone else was the safer thing to do. Considering her full strength had hardly knocked the demon back, the second part was the bigger part.

There were some colorful words on the other line of the phone, and then Yusuke commanded Kurama to turn back. "Hey, don't move, okay? We're gonna be there in a sec." And then there were some more curse words. "You're okay, right? He didn't hurt you?"

"I'm fine. Scared, but not hurt." Dayne admitted to the loud-mouthed boy. He had a harsh personality, but an honest one that she admired. It was like Sagaku's personality – one that just begged for honesty in return.

"I can imagine. We're pulling back onto your street now. Do you know if he's still around the house?" Yusuke asked. His voice sounded tinny over the phone, but she could still hear the concern. And the man had really only met her the day before.

"I don't think so, but I don't know for sure." Dayne closed her eyes, pressing the back of her head against the cool wall. She felt like she might throw up. What she had thought was stress, earlier in life, was nothing compared to this. She was like chum, thrown into the water for sharks.

"We're pulling up now. Is the door unlocked?" Yusuke asked. Dayne nodded, and then realized that they wouldn't be able to see that.

"Yes it is. I'm in my room." The phone hung up. It took a minute, but she heard the car doors shut, and then hurried footsteps. The front door opened, and then Yusuke raced around the corner, looking around the room.

"He didn't do any damage." The Spirit Detective sounded almost disappointed.

"His smell is all over the place though." Kurama walked in behind Yusuke, his eyes going to the girl as he carefully and deliberately sniffed the air. "He's an unfamiliar demon. I don't think I've ever run across him."

"I don't know why I always call you guys after he leaves. It seems pointless when he's not here, but when he is…I don't have time. I'm sorry." Dayne lifted her head to stare at the two of them. Her cheeks were flushed dull red, and her eyes were crazy with fear. "He doesn't touch me, but he intimidates me. I pushed him to get him off me, but –"

"He was on you?" Yusuke interrupted, his temper threatening to take over.

"No, not all the way. Just blocking me in." Dayne closed her eyes and shuddered again. Most people radiated body heat. That demon just radiated terror.

"Did he give you his name, or tell you why he was here?" Kurama asked, eying the wrinkled bed sheets. He could see the imprint where the demon's knees had been.

"I didn't ask, but he said I learned something new." Dayne blushed bright red, and looked to the side. She wouldn't say it out loud, but she had been way too scared to ask logical questions. The fact that the demon was popping in without warning was too much.

"Shit. This guy is problematic. How does he know when no one else is here?" Yusuke asked, leaning out the window to see what the view was.

"I don't know. I wish I could give you guys some answers." Dayne tried to stop the shiver that went down her spine. Purple eyes came up unbidden from one of her dreams. She wished she could remember what the dream had been about.

"Well, we've got to figure out what to do with you for now." Yusuke grumbled, not seeing anything particularly helpful outside the window.

"I stayed here few days after her dad died. Maybe it would be best if I did that again." Kurama offered.

Dayne didn't accept the offer right away. She was too busy wondering if it was wise; after all, had anything bad happened before Kurama ran into her? Before that her dreams had been normal, mundane. Now she was being threatened by demons, being threatened each time she so much as closed her eyes to sleep, let alone when she was awake…did she really want the catalyst protecting her? Especially when something about him was just screaming that he was hiding something?

"Yeah, it makes the most sense for you. Your mom will probably faint with happiness of the thought of her perfect little son having a girlfriend." Yusuke guffawed.

"If you think that's what's best." Dayne bowed her head in acquiesce. Her safety was worth more than her mental sanity, wasn't it? She just wouldn't wonder what he was trying to hide. He had already told her he was a demon; it couldn't get much worse than that.

"At least until we figure something else out. Don't worry about it, Dayne." Kurama smiled gently at her. If part of the reason he offered was because he felt guilty for judging her so harshly before and not answering the phone when she actually needed him…well, he hid it well behind his pleasant mask.

"Well then, Kurama, I'm taking your car. Keiko has been cooing over the babies for the last few hours, and I'm sensing danger. No way I'm gonna be a daddy, and with Yukina, Usagi, Sagaku, Botan and her all together…well, a rescue is in need." Yusuke gave an ironic salute to his friend and the girl, catching the keys Kurama tossed to him with a grin.

"I wish I had seen the babies." Dayne frowned wistfully. Kurama shot a surprised look at her, but straightened his face as she closed the door behind Yusuke. He really hoped she wasn't angry about that still. She had been acting polite all day, so it seemed unlikely, but he had no way to be sure.

"Well, since I'm going to be stuck here for a while, let's see if we can figure out more with your dreams." Kurama said. Dayne turned her bright blue eyes to his bright green ones.

"You do realize I can't make myself dream." She pointed out.

"Not yet you can't, but maybe if you try…" Kurama trailed off, shrugging.

"Okay, I'll give it a try. Can we eat first though? I'm afraid I haven't eaten anything all day." Dayne blinked owlishly, feeling her stomach rumble quietly.

* * *

They sat facing each other, their knees almost touching. Dayne had her eyes closed, trying not to think about the redhead just staring at her. What she was supposed to be doing was trying to recall the exact feeling she got upon entering dreams. She was having a hard time doing that – it was a numb feeling on the outside, but she only felt that for a second before she was immersed in the dream, and that was always a very realistic feeling. One that she couldn't conjure up while he was staring at her.

"I'm sorry, I'm having a hard time while you're watching me." Dayne peeked out from under her long, dark lashes. "Do you think you could not stare at me the whole time?" She tried to ask it politely. If her voice sounded a little snappish it wasn't her fault. She didn't like the warm feeling spreading to her face just from the feel of his gaze on her.

"Sorry. I'll look in another direction." She felt him move back a few inches, although she still felt the lingering warmth from his gaze. It was only due to the willpower she had exercised for years in controlling her emotions that she was able to concentrate on the numb feeling again. And then, with a tickling sensation, a dream started materializing in her head.

_Dayne was sitting in the black wasteland, and she opened her eyes wide. Kurama was sitting in front of her, a few feet away. His form was unmoving, bland…she stretched her fingers out to touch his knee. Nothing happened. With a frown, Dayne tried shaking his knee. It didn't move. There were vines around him, as always, but they stayed motionless on the floor._

_ "Kurama?" Dayne asked tentatively. No reaction. She frowned again. He had said to focus, to move in real life. She sat back down carefully, wondering how she was supposed to 'focus' on moving. It was just natural. But she tried again, feeling a new heaviness to her limbs. She reached her hand out, touching Kurama's knee…_

"You managed to move outside of the dream!" Kurama said happily, startling Dayne out of the haze. She looked down, startled to see her hand on his knee.

"Damn it!" She shouted, shocking the redhead into silence. She had been so calm, except for the few bouts of fear she had experienced due to the demon. "I was trying to bring you _into_ the dream!" She snarled, jerking her hand back and smashing it against her own knee. "I don't _get_ it, these dreams are _useless_! What on earth is that demon playing at?" Her blue eyes were seething and she looked grouchily at her long, slender fingers with a glare. Kurama stifled a laugh. With how polite she always was, he had expected her to be patient.

"Calm down, Dayne. These things always take time." He tried to smooth the smile on his face into something more neutral.

"That's easy for you to say!" The aggravated girl threw her hands into the air. Through it all her hair managed to stay smooth and sleek around her face. "You're not a powerless human being stalked by a creeper demon planning on eating your soul! You have some form of defense! What do I have? Dreams that make me freeze." She let out a short screech, and then pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her arms. It was foolish, throwing this tantrum, but it had broken out of no where. If she was embarrassed, it was her own fault.

"You have me." Kurama pointed out seriously. He was still tempted to smile – she was obviously not meant to be polite and emotionless. She must have looked up to her mother a lot to try so hard to emulate her.

"I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lose my temper." Dayne muttered from her position.

"Let's try again." Kurama suggested.


	18. Prying

**Da na na naa…Da da, da da…can't touch this. Nor can I truly touch YYH. Why? You might ask. Because I don't own it. This chapter is a little short compared to some of the other ones, and it jumps forward in time about half-way through, but that's mostly because if I wrote this as a day-by-day journal you'd get super bored. Now, however, there is some interest that's gonna start playing a part =]**

**Enjoy!**

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* * *

The Tie Between Two Worlds**

At some point while Dayne struggled to do anything with her dreams – when she was able to bring them upon herself – Kurama called his mom and let her know he was going to be out of town with some friends for a few days. Dayne heard him in the background assuring his mother that he had enough clothes and he would be fine. She smiled, leaning her head back for a moment. It was nice to take a quick break, one that helped reprieve her headache. The way Kurama spoke to his mom was sweet. It was one of the only times that his politeness seemed one hundred percent sincere.

_The tired looking woman held the baby in her arms, smiling sweetly down into the crying boy's face. Flowers in the room were opening and closing, spreading their bright petals wide as if to catch the baby's tears. Dayne crept a little closer, surprised at what she saw. The small mop of wet hair on the boy's head was changing from silver to red, the faint ghost of fox ears drifting away. Was this Kurama? And his mother? She strained to feel the weight of her limbs again, reaching out blindly behind her. Kurama, the adult version, took her hand. This time, she was not pulled from the dream. He was pulled into it._

_ "Is this you?" Dayne asked, not able to tear her eyes away from the beautiful lady with her son._

_ "Yes." Kurama breathed out, surprised. He took a step closer to Dayne, his hand traveling from her hand, up her arm, and to her shoulder. "How are you able to see this?"_

_ "I don't know. I wanted to take a short break, and then…this. That's not your body, is it?" She glanced back and up at Kurama's face. His lips were pressed tight together, his eyes hardened in his face._

_ "No. I was dying, in the demon world. I took my chances and separated soul from body, taking over the first suitable body I found." He glanced down at her face, wondering how she would take the admission. _

"So is she really your mother?" Dayne asked, undeterred by the fact that the dream had faded away from around them. Kurama slowly took his hand away from her shoulder.

"Yes. I didn't expect her to be, when I inhabited Shuichi's body, but I have come to love her." He closed his eyes and smiled for a second. "I didn't know how strong a family's love could be."

"So are you…you know, two people? Or are you all demon?" Dayne asked, turning around to face Kurama face to face.

"Both." He gave her a not-answer, frowning down into her face. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I'm sorry if it seems like I was prying. I swear I didn't mean to. The dream just came." Dayne whispered, realizing what that must have seemed like. And then she hadn't let it go, instead asking all those questions…she was having an off day, one where holding in her emotions and natural rudeness just didn't seem to be working.

Kurama lifted his hand, brushing the back of his calloused fingers gently across her cheek. She was turning bright red, embarrassed and upset. It was…pretty, seeing emotions run so freely across her features.

"You don't have to be sorry. I know you can't control what you dream. I'm just surprised you saw that, is all." Kurama tried to reassure the girl. She took a step backwards, pulling away from his hand. He let it drop to his side.

* * *

The end of the year was nearing. Dayne had spent a week with Sagaku and the baby while Hiei went on a prolonged mission. Kurama had used that week to stay with his mom. He still checked in with her every few days, but she was always thrilled to see him. Dayne had come much further along in her dreams – as long as she paid careful attention to her surroundings, she could even move things in the real world as she dreamed. Kurama had taken to leading her somewhere new, giving her two minutes, and then blindfolding her and telling her to recite to him all the information she could about their location. It was annoying, but it was slowly becoming a game.

"Are you busy studying for finals?" Kurama peeked his head into Dayne's room, interrupting her focus. She had, in fact, been studying for finals. Kurama had a key to the lock that they'd had to replace after Yusuke's stunt with his spirit energy. He always checked up on her frequently, especially if it was one of the nights he was spending at his mother's house. The demon hadn't showed himself frequently, but she'd had a horrible dream about him only three nights ago. The demon was still around somewhere.

"I can take a few minutes off. Do you need help with something?" Dayne asked politely, standing up from the desk. The phone rang unexpectedly, though, so she held up a finger to Kurama and lifted up the phone. "Hello?"

There was a pause, an extended one. And then she frowned.

"Jonathan, I'm not sure that's such a good idea…Yes, I understand Uncle Riley doesn't want me to be here alone after school is done…No, I'm not going down to America this summer. I most certainly did not promise Benjamin that…Really? I already told you I don't think that's a good idea…Fine. Don't expect me to pick you up, though…Yes, I'm busy!...Bye."

The phone was all but thrown against the wall as Dayne groaned and sat down at the desk again, forgetting that she had been about to help Kurama with something. He settled comfortably on her bed, perfectly aware that she normally hated people sitting on it. A few weeks ago she had snapped at Yusuke over it, but she had yet to say anything about it to him. He was testing the waters, waiting for her to snap.

"Jonathan is coming back to Japan for the summer." She told her friend, in case he hadn't picked that up from what she had said.

"May I ask why?" Kurama asked with a bland smile. He hadn't really liked the blonde southerner.

"They think I'm going to fall apart the minute I don't have school to distract me." Dayne answered, tilting her head back with a deep sigh. Her dark, shiny hair fell back, exposing her throat. Kurama suppressed a grin. Sometimes she did things she didn't realize were symbolic to demons. The foxy part of him was screaming that she was admitting defeat. The human part of him knew it wasn't true.

"Are you?" He teased the girl gently. She still thought about her dad – he had been pulled into one of her dreams that had been about her dad – but she certainly wouldn't fall apart. With the exception of the occasional outbreak of emotion, she was basically well held together. And not all of the outbreaks had been bad. The first time she saw Sagaku with the baby she had started squealing from happiness. Sagaku had squealed even louder.

"Of course not." Dayne straightened herself up, pulling on a serious face. "Have I ever shown any sign of emotion? No, of course not!"

Kurama chuckled lightly, and then stood. "Come on, Dayne, let's work on the dreams some more." He commanded, beckoning for her to stand as well. With a sigh, she stood, stretching her arms up. Kurama watched with a light smile. The girl was completely oblivious to the things she did. It was refreshingly human, despite her knowing and being involved with the three worlds now.

"Okay, then. Let's get to it." She smiled wanly at the redhead, and followed him out into the living room. They both kneeled on the floor and Kurama reached out to take her hand. The warm calluses were rough against her own soft skin, but she had long since stopped noticing his touches. It was necessary if she was bringing him into the dream with her. Pulling him in tended to make the dreams stop sooner than they should, although they had yet to find out why.

_There was a weird shape drawn on the floor, candles placed at the end of each line on the symbol. The flames were flickering weakly, casting shadows this way and that. Jonathan stood at one end of it, staring hungrily at Dayne where she stood._

_ "I learned something new," he smiled charmingly, his cherub-face lighting up, "let me show you." And then he began chanting._

_ "What is he doing?" Kurama breathed as they stood up carefully, letting go of each other. It had been a while before they were comfortable enough to test it, but as long as they were touching before the dream ended, it didn't matter. _

_ "I think…I think it's a ritual. They call it devil-worshipping where he's from, in Georgia." Dayne frowned. "Jonathan wouldn't be into something like this."_

_ Black wisps were forming from the ground, twisting around each other. The vines commonly present when Kurama was with her in her dreams started twisting up her ankle, resting provocatively against her legs. The wisps were solidifying._

_ "Hello, dear. It's been a while, hasn't it?" The demon was as cool and dark as she remembered, standing in the middle of the symbol._

_ "Meet my new friend, Dayne." Jonathan was still smiling. "He promised me I could have you first."_

The dream ended abruptly, Kurama reaching Dayne's shoulder just in time.


	19. Park Lessons

**My dog has a cone of shame…it's adorable and depressing all at once. **

**And, to more important news, I wanna say thank you to everyone for reviewing =] I have more reviews than chapters…it's exciting =] So yeah, I really appreciate it, gracias amigos!**

**Enjoy this chapter and the YYH characters that I don't own. And feel free to enjoy the characters I do own, too =]**

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* * *

Practicing and Being Stalked  
**

"That was odd." Kurama was frowning deeply, his hand squeezing Dayne's hand from the same kneeling position they had started at. "I'm not sure I like what that dream was implying."

"I don't either, but maybe it didn't mean Jonathan himself was…consorting with the demon. I mean, if it's all symbolic, it could be any of my friends, couldn't it?" Dayne breathed out. "Jonathan has been family for so long, he wouldn't possibly betray me to demons."

"Maybe not." Kurama said. But he didn't agree. Dayne's dreams had been moving further and further away from symbolic for a long time. Now they were so close to being real it was eerie. "But just in case, when did he say he was getting here?"

"He'll be here in a few days." Dayne answered. "Shall we try again?" And she extended her graceful hand to the fox. He took it, grinning wryly. She had learned reluctantly at first, but ever since they began making progress she had been eager to perfect her skills. It was astounding, in a way, and terrifying. No one knew exactly what to make of her unpredictable skills.

The next dream was the pure blackness they sometimes entered into. After the first few times of bland emptiness, they had come to realize it was still the dream-world, minus the dreams. Much to both of their amusements, these dreams tended to give Kurama fox-like features and his vines were slowly extending into trees each time he visited. Regardless, there was nothing useful to learn from the dreams.

"Let's go practice with your observance skills again." Kurama suggested, straightening from his prone position.

"Or we can start studying for the Botany class. The final isn't going to be easy, you know." Dayne pointed at Kurama, still kneeling on the floor.

"It will be for me." He smiled down at Dayne, laughing at the impish look that crossed her face. "We will study for it, tonight. I'll tell my mom I'm staying over again." He finally said, appeasing the disgruntled girl. She was very serious about her studies, although she was putting off going to Graduate School until the demon was taken care of. As she put it, her sanity would help her pass class. The demon obviously wanted her to be insane.

"Does she mind when you stay over?" Dayne asked curiously, taking the hand Kurama offered her to pull herself up on.

"No. She gets very curious about you, but as I keep telling her, it's just so we can have late-night study sessions." Kurama tilted his head a little, his red hair falling to the side slightly. "She thinks I have a girlfriend and I'm just embarrassed to tell her."

"Or she thinks you have a boyfriend and you're just embarrassed to tell her." Dayne pointed out rudely, laughing at Kurama's surprised look. She had loosened up around him since she spent the week with Sagaku and the baby. And the look he got on his face when she said or did something he didn't expect was absolutely priceless.

"Perhaps." Kurama laughed sheepishly. "I hadn't thought of that. Maybe I should tell her I have a girlfriend just to make her feel better."

Dayne joined in with a giggle of her own. "I can just see it: she would faint with happiness and offer to pay for the entire wedding!" She snorted and then started giggling again. Kurama chuckled and prodded her towards the door. They had work to do, no matter how cute it was to watch her joke around.

* * *

"So tell me what's exactly to your right." Kurama commanded, his hand tapping her right shoulder as if she didn't know her left from her right.

"About two feet from my right foot there's a small rock, almost the size of my fist. At an angle to that is a thin tree with low hanging branches. Beneath the tree and further that way," she pointed forward, "is a bench." A few people walking by eyed the two of them oddly. Kurama just grinned politely, putting his hands on Dayne's shoulder to turn her around a few times.

"Okay," he said, moving around her, "what's directly behind you now?" She was getting better at determining which direction she was facing in the real world, even if she couldn't see. The thick green cloth covered the top half of her face, basically, keeping everything from the outside world covered. Dayne took a minute to think about how many times she had been spun, and whether or not it had been full turns or partial turns.

"There were two pedestrians in that direction when we started. They'll have moved by now. Uhm…a sidewalk, about four yards directly behind me. And…hm. I think I noticed a trashcan on the other side of the sidewalk. Maybe." Dayne frowned, trying to remember everything that had been around her when they walked to the park.

"You'll have to work on memorizing your surroundings a little more. But you got almost everything. What's directly in front of you?" Kurama asked, stepping until their feet were almost touching. Dayne's breath caught and she froze.

"Well…you." The bottoms of her cheeks, all he could see beneath the green cloth, were turning red.

"And past me?" Kurama asked lightly, smiling to himself. She was easily distracted, and although she never acted so flustered when she could see what he was doing, she sometimes got this way when she was blindfolded.

"Past you is…a slight dip in the land. Two trees, one to the right, one to the left. Roots sticking up out of the grass. About twenty feet from the trees is the pond, which is entirely melted and still icy cold." Dayne wrinkled her nose. She had slipped into it the first time they were at the park and she was blindfolded.

"Good. Do you think you can find the rock you pointed out from here?" Kurama asked her, taking a step away. A frown slipped over lips and she tilted her head from side to side as she would have if she could see. Finally she turned to her left and took a few haltering steps. She prodded forward tentatively with her foot, and upon feeling the rock, bent to pick it up.

"That's cheating!" Kurama laughed, nudging her foot aside with his own and taking the rock from her hand. "You won't be able to check like that if you're in a dream."

"I would like to see you do this without cheating. Or using your foxy skills." Dayne smirked, and reached up to remove the blindfold. Her hair stuck out a little on the sides due to the rubbing of the cloth, and she had to blink a few times to get readjusted to the sun.

"Fine." Kurama dropped the rock and held out his hand for the blindfold. "I'll show you how it's done."

"As if." Dayne snorted, and then waited until the blindfold was secured around Kurama's eyes.

Kurama grinned to himself, surprised that she trusted him to do this without cheating. He could feel everything, thanks to the grass and the trees. Luckily it was a well foliaged park. Plus, her smell was emanating from the blindfold, a teasingly delicious scent.

"Are you ready?" Dayne asked, leaning over silently to pick the rock up. She moved back a few steps, knowing Kurama would hear that. "Find the rock you just threw." She demanded, and then inched back a few more steps.

"Easy." Kurama snorted, and then began feeling around the roots of the grass, about where he had thrown it. With a frown, he realized he wasn't able to sense where it was. He took a few small steps, still using the plants to feel around. Dayne tried to cover up a laugh with a cough, but it was too late and Kurama whirled towards the noise. "You cheated!" He accused, and moved in her direction easily despite the green cloth over his eyes.

"You never gave me any boundaries." Dayne danced back a few steps, trying to stay away from his outreached hand. He looked like he was playing zombie.

"That's still cheating." Kurama pointed out, turning in the direction she had moved. He pounced forward, surprised when she twisted out of his grip easily.

"Perhaps." Dayne laughed and then continued, "Although, to be fair, this is the first time you've been blindfolded. I feel like I should make you work since you always make me work." Kurama smiled wryly. The girl was a flirt, sometimes, even if she didn't realize it. She seemed absurdly naïve about a lot of things like that. He lunged forward again, his hand twisting around one of her wrists. She tugged, but his fingers didn't relinquish their grip.

"So where is it?" Kurama asked, feeling her hand with his spare hand, surprised to find it was just her palm and fingers there. He reached across her and found that she had extended her other arm out as far as it could go from her body. A few people laughed as they passed by, but the park grew quiet again as most people left. The sun was setting. Kurama stretched over her, his fingers grazing by the top of her hand, and then the rock…

"Well, this is cute, dear. I'm surprised to find you've opened up to someone so well. Really, I was only away for a few months." Dayne froze, and Kurama tore the blindfold off, his grin fading as quickly as physically possible. He recognized that voice and the inflections from Dayne's dreams.

"What is your name?" Kurama demanded, pulling Dayne closer to him. The green cloth fell to the ground, forgotten. He hadn't even sensed the demon arriving.

"I'm not wont to giving away my name." The demon smiled, his pale lips spreading across his face. "You look frightened, dear." His dark eyes turned to Dayne, who did in fact have the blush across her cheeks that appeared whenever she was so much as startled. "You should be." He laughed bitterly, and bowed to Kurama. "Protect her well, fox, because the second you look away I'm claiming her." And then he disappeared as if he had never even been there. The indentation in the grass was the only sign.

"It's okay, Dayne." Kurama murmured, rubbing his hand against her arm. She was shivering.

"I hate him." She spat vehemently, leaning anxiously against her redheaded friend.

"Come on, let's go report this to Koenma and talk to the others about it. Maybe they'll have some insight." Kurama tucked Dayne against his side, wondering how truthful the demon's threat had been. Was he really supposed to keep an eye on Dayne at all times?

"Mmkay." Dayne watched the ground carefully as they walked, not looking up to meet Kurama's eyes. The last thing she wanted him to know was that she was embarrassed for not being able to protect herself. Although the demon was still after her soul and powers, so maybe there was something there. The dreams must have been more important than she realized.


	20. Theory

**I was feeling so lazy today…thus this being posted a bit later than usual. I'm getting all stressed because I have to go back to school soon and I don't have everything yet…but that's okay. I'm gonna be happy to be around all my friends again.**

**Also: it has been brought to my attention that I occasionally switch Sagaku's name with Dayne's name. Sorry about that. If you notice it, please just mentally switch the name in your head until I get around to fixing it…WistfulSin has kindly let me know when I do it so at least I know where to look LoL.**

**So enjoy, and don't forget that I don't own YYH.**

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* * *

Reaching Out**

"This demon is an interesting character." Koenma frowned into the screen. Dayne had finally been introduced to the blue-haired reaper, and she was eying the girl warily from her position beside Kurama as they all hunkered down in front of the briefcase-like object. "And apparently very advanced; why did you not attack him, Kurama?"

"I couldn't, not if it would leave Dayne unprotected." Kurama pointed out. For a second, Dayne bristled at the idea of being a damsel in distress, but then realized that was exactly what she was.

"We'll have to do something about this." Koenma was still frowning around his pacifier, the 'Jr.' on his forehead scrunched up as he puzzled over the matter at hand.

"You're still trying to find out who the demon is, aren't you?" Kurama asked his boss.

"Yes, yes, we're still researching that." And then the screen buzzed blank.

"We need to get you somewhere safe. I need to go back to the park and see if I can figure anything else out. Maybe I missed something to begin with." Kurama smiled comfortingly at the black-haired girl who ducked her head to hide her fear or disappointment. Or maybe to hide something else, Kurama didn't exactly know.

"It won't be safe for me to go with you?" She asked from her guarded position.

"I don't know. I think it will be better if we don't take the chance." Kurama nudged her arm apologetically. She didn't look up, but bowed slightly.

"Hai, I understand." It was the icy demeanor, the one that was nothing but a polite façade. Kurama frowned, realizing that somehow their relationship had just taken a step back.

"I'll take you to Sagaku and Hiei." He decided, putting aside her sudden change back to the courteous manners. There were more important things to take care of at the moment.

* * *

"Dayne!" Sagaku threw her arms around the human girl, almost lifting herself off her feet. Dayne bent down to return the hug as Kurama muttered something to Hiei in the background. He turned and left without even saying goodbye. "I'm so glad to see you again! I was afraid now that I had a baby you wouldn't want to hang out." The brown-haired girl grinned broadly up at Dayne, who started in surprise. She hadn't realized that Sagaku would have time – or the desire – to see her.

"Have you named him yet?" Dayne asked. It had been about a month since she had last seen the baby.

"Finally. We struggled trying to think of something original, but Hiei finally relented and we named him after an old friend. His name is Nenriki. Come on, come see him!" Sagaku pulled Dayne further into the living room, bending to scoop up the baby who was currently garbling happily up at his father. Now that the baby's eyes were open, Dayne could see that they were a murky violet color, almost a direct mix between the bright red eyes of Hiei and the dark brown eyes of Sagaku. He had black hair, already growing in a small upward puff from his head, and small, delicate features.

"He's beautiful." Dayne breathed.

"Hn." Hiei grunted, but when he took his son when Sagaku held him out, and cradled him in his arms. His eyes dared Dayne to say something, but she only smiled.

"Can I hold him? Please?" She held out her hands hesitantly, surprised when the harsh fire demon actually held his son out. Dayne held him close to her body, surprised at how…normal and baby-like he was. "Oh, you're adorable." She cooed. Sagaku grinned, her eyes catching Hiei's suggestively. He rolled his eyes and strode to his favorite place on her windowsill. The baby caught a handful of Dayne's silky hair, tugging it curiously as he garbled some more.

Kurama was careful as he wandered into the park, listening acutely for any signs of another person. The problem was, there were no signs of other people. And there were also no signs of the demon. He found the rock he and Dayne had been playing around with, and he could smell their scents all over the place. He even caught brief scents of some of the pedestrians; however, wherever the demon had been standing, he hadn't left anything behind except for the light, light scent. Kurama frowned ponderously, trying to decide where to go from there. He wanted to take care of this demon so Dayne wouldn't be a liability anymore. Then again, he wanted Dayne to be a liability, just so he could spend more time with her. She was a puzzle he enjoyed, and the way she acted…it was a nice reminder that he was just as human as he was demon. It was a nice balance. She had to be taken care of, even if it meant he spent the rest of his life following her around so this deranged demon wouldn't get close again.

"No way!" Sagaku exclaimed, sitting on the floor by Dayne. Nenriki sat between the two of them, clapping his hands together whenever he wanted more attention. Sagaku was stroking his head fondly throughout the entire conversation. Dayne had just explained what she and Kurama had been attempting to do. "Can you bring me into a dream?" Sagaku's eyes glittered as she bounced forward. "I want to know what it's like!"

"Onna, if you're going to try new things hand me the baby." Hiei commanded from the window. Sagaku stood excitedly, handing the happy baby to her mate before she settled down directly across from Dayne, holding out her hands. Hiei watched curiously, his hands steadying the trusting child on his lap. Dayne took a deep breath, closing her eyes and grasping Sagaku's hands. For a second she just breathed normally, and then Sagaku's eyes glazed over and Dayne's entire body relaxed minutely. Because he was curious, Hiei cast his telepathy over them. He didn't even get a stray thought from Sagaku, which was a rarity.

_The two girls grinned at each other, both exuberant._

_ "I'm glad it worked. It doesn't always." Dayne admitted to her friend. The rabbit demon was looking this way and that, still clutching Dayne's hands._

_ "This is amazing…everything feels different." The two of them stood up beside each other and looked around. It was the black emptiness._

_ "Kurama and I end up here a lot," Dayne explained, "we think it means my dreams have nothing to show me."_

_ "Even so, it's amazing. And you say that if you concentrate hard enough here you can move things in real life? Could I, do you think?" Sagaku, having let go of one of Dayne's hands, was reaching around as if testing her movement._

_ "Kurama isn't able to, so we think only I can." Dayne admitted._

_ A chilling chuckle sounded right after her voice, echoing quietly around them. The demon stepped forward from the darkness, his long hair swinging around him. The only thing that didn't blend into the blackness surrounding them was his pale, pale skin. _

_ Sagaku was immediately on guard, dropping Dayne's hand to face the demon. Dayne tried to stand straight, ignoring the fear tightening in her chest._

_ "My dear, you have the most interesting friends. I really feel they will enrich the taste of your soul." He chuckled again and stepped towards Dayne, Sagaku's kick not reaching him somehow. Dayne reached out and grabbed her friend just as the dream began to fade._

"That is seriously creepy." Sagaku snarled as they both focused on her living room again. "Was that creep real?" Hiei stood up growling, Nenriki squealing delightedly from his arms.

"He's a real demon, but I don't know if that's really him in the dreams." Dayne swallowed and leaned back against the couch.

"Did he touch you?" Hiei asked his mate, ignoring the human girl.

"No. And I couldn't touch him even when I tried." Sagaku frowned.

"Did you figure out what he was?" Hiei asked.

"No clue." Sagaku grinned up at her mate as she stood. "I wish I could say, but you have to admit that I am rather limited when it comes to all the different breeds of demons."

"Hn. Foolish onna." And Hiei left it at that, shooting a look that wasn't quite concerned at Dayne. The fox seemed to like the girl so he was just making sure she wasn't about to go into shock. She wasn't. She looked exceptionally calm even though he could feel her fear.

Kurama walked in just then, looking surprised to see them all standing in the living room. He closed the door behind him and stepped in as well, standing between Hiei and Dayne.

"I didn't find anything." He answered the unspoken question resignedly. "Whoever this demon is…he's good at hiding himself."

"Hn. Stay here fox. I'll go look myself." Hiei snorted at said fox and dodged out of the room. Sagaku watched him leave with a goofy grin.

"He's actually worried, bless his silly head." Nenriki prodded her foot and she bent down to pick up the baby who had recently learned to crawl. "What's wrong, little Riki?" Sagaku cooed down in her arms, and then handed the baby to Kurama. "Let me go get his bottle ready." She said and then she was off in the kitchen yelling to them.

"Here, let me take him." Dayne offered, holding out her arms. Kurama smiled at the squirming mass in his arms but passed the baby off.

"You don't sound worried." Kurama called to the bustling mother. He chuckled at the comment and then said, "Not that you're ever worried."

"Well, he's after Dayne. That much is very clear; he hardly acknowledged me in the dream and I attacked him. But if he goes after Dayne, she has the advantage." Sagaku called, and then reentered the living room with a bottle of milk. She took her baby back from Dayne and sat down cuddling him to her as she fed him.

"What makes you say I have the advantage? I don't know how to fight, and my dreams aren't exactly useful." Dayne pointed out.

"Koenma said you have demon blood in your heritage," Sagaku pointed out, "That's got to count for something. Plus, you can use your dreams. You've learned how to get into them and move around them and everything. Maybe you can learn to fight with them."

"It's a little more difficult than that, I'm afraid." Dayne blushed, not wanting to tell her friend how hard it had been to learn to pick up even the smallest of things in her dreams.

"I bet you'll figure it out anyways." Sagaku challenged the blushing girl. Kurama wondered if Sagaku didn't have the point – everything that happened was for an evolutionary purpose. The dreams wouldn't have developed if they didn't help her somehow, give her some small advantage…

"Why did Hiei go to check after you already did?" Dayne twisted to look at the redhead. He jerked, surprised at being addressed when he had been thinking.

"Probably to use his Jagan eye. He might find something I missed." Kurama smiled politely as if she hadn't just surprised him. Her eyes narrowed at him.

Sagaku watched the brief exchange, a slight smile slipping over her lips as she turned to look back down at Nenriki. Trying to be at odds with Kurama was like trying to be at odds with a mountain. He would simply respond politely, no matter what. Dayne had become much more vocal as she grew more comfortable with the two of them so it must make her angry when he responded the way she used to, with polite little smiles and politic answers. Kurama was probably actually a little annoyed and amused that Hiei went to go double check, but he certainly didn't show it.

By the time Hiei showed up again, Dayne was politely ignoring the redhead who was giving Sagaku a 'what-did-I-do?' look. She didn't know how to tell him he was being too diplomatic and polite again. It was the way he acted around people, and that's just the way it was. Apparently he had been a little more open around Dayne, and now that he was reverting back she was…aggravated. Aggravated was a safe word to use.

"Nothing." Hiei growled. He shot a calculating look at Dayne. "He hasn't revealed his name?" He asked.

"No, he hasn't. He really won't answer any questions I ask." Dayne shrugged. "I think he's trying to make me nervous of everything, including my own shadow." She wouldn't add that while she wasn't afraid of her shadow, a lot of other things were scaring her now. Every time she accidentally bumped into someone she worried it was the demon.

"Hn. He leaves no traces." Hiei sat back on the window sill, staring moodily at his mate and child. They both grinned cheekily back.

"We'll figure it out." Kurama supplied, and then stood. "Dayne, we should probably head back to your house."

"Wait." Dayne spoke over Kurama, ignoring the shocked look everyone gave her for interrupting. "Is it possible that this demon might be the same kind as what I'm supposed to have in me?" She looked from Kurama to Sagaku to Hiei. They were all quiet, staring at her as if she had grown a second head. "Seriously, think about it. He appears in my dreams and actually interacts with me. Most of my dreams are more like 3-D movies. And also, he always knows where to find me and he never leaves any traces. What if it's because he can move through dreams? Wouldn't it explain a lot?" She was talking quickly, excitedly, gesturing with her hands.

"That could be right…I wish we knew more about your ancestors." Sagaku frowned as she bounced a giggling Nenriki up and down on her knee.

"I thought you thought he was a spider demon." Kurama pointed out.

"I had a dream about him involving webs. It seemed logical." Dayne said in a frosty tone.

"Well, webs symbolize dreams sometimes." Sagaku pointed out.

"Hn. This might be something to look into." Hiei agreed, shrugging nonchalantly as he turned to the window. What he didn't say is that he was impressed that the ningen came up with it on her own.


	21. Smooth Move

**I feel like we should celebrate my story having 21 chapters =P Haha, just kidding. I really wanna say thanks to everyone who reviews, though, and I'm adding Nichole to the list of people who make me feel all warm and fuzzy by reviewing more than once =P So, that's about all I've got to say on that subject right now.**

**And I hope you guys are ready for a little Kurama-Dayne action (of course I don't own Kurama and the rest of the YYH characters) because, yes, we've finally reached that point =P**

**So voila! Enjoy!**

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* * *

Toying With Emotions**

"Are you okay?" Kurama asked Dayne when they were back in her house. She had been silent the entire car ride, and he hadn't exactly liked the time he had to think about her. She slipped in and out of moods like a cat, one minute flirting with him, and the next being polite and cool as a statue. He didn't like that it affected his mood as well.

"I'm fine." Dayne smiled politely, and then headed to her room to go study. No way was she going to let Kurama ruin his day. One second he was playing around with her and the next second he was treating her like a piece of baggage. It wasn't something she wanted to deal with.

Kurama followed Dayne into her room, frowning at her callous attitude. Why was she acting angry at him? It wasn't like he had done anything. None of the demons he had courted in his past life had been half as confusing as this little human girl. It wasn't right. She ignored him although he was sure she was aware he was following. Sitting down at her desk, she pulled her text book towards her and picked up studying exactly where she had left off. The redhead glared for a second and then sat purposefully on her bed.

"If you don't mind, I'm busy. Do you mind going elsewhere?" Dayne asked in a strained voice from her desk. Her back was still to him. Kurama smiled and closed his eyes. It had taken a while, but he was finally pulling another emotion out of her. And she probably really wanted him off her bed.

"I do mind, actually. I'm just sitting here, I won't bother you." He stifled a chuckle as her shoulders tightened. It had been warm enough that she was wearing a white blouse, and it strained against the stressed muscles of her back. If he was reading her correctly, she was getting angry again. In the meantime, Dayne tried to focus on her book, ignoring the fox demon who was contaminating her bed. She wouldn't worry about it, and if she didn't react he would leave as he always did. He knew she didn't like people on her bed.

_The blonde, curly hair looked familiar, but the figure was carefully avoiding looking anyone in the eye. An odd, black shadow hovered around his hand, a hand that was carefully drawing a figure on the ground outside of Dayne's house. The black-haired demon was standing beside him, a sly grin on his face. The blonde finally looked up as another demon appeared in the center of the figure. More and more demons were coming from the center of the oddly shaped star, until the house was almost surrounded._

Kurama watched all the muscles in Dayne's back relax as she went into a dream briefly. She didn't say anything afterwards, but her muscles seemed more tense. He wondered how much longer it would be until she snapped. Dayne was staring at the book in front of her, but now the words were smearing around her vision, all blurred together. That was the second dream she'd had of Jonathan consorting with demons. Maybe even the third. She kept trying to write it off as one of her friends betraying her, but it wasn't true and she knew that. It was Jonathan. And he was coming to Japan in just two days.

Dayne had forgotten Kurama was in her room, so when she finally stopped staring at her text book and turned around, she let out a startled yelp. Blood rushed to her cheeks, coloring them pink.

"I didn't mean to startle you." Kurama winced delicately at her yelp and sat up. The blanket was hardly even wrinkled where he had been laying.

"I told you to get off my bed!" Dayne snarled at him, trying to recover from the shock. Adrenaline was racing through her veins, making her hands shake weakly. She hated adrenaline rushes.

"Actually, you just requested it." Kurama tried not to smirk as emotions raced across her snapping blue eyes. The polite façade was beautiful, but bland. It was like staring at a painting. When her uncle had called her emotions pure, he hadn't been lying. It was like watching a lightning storm.

"You knew what I meant." Dayne stood, her book falling off her desk. She was glaring at him, the pink still staining her cheeks. Kurama didn't stand, just eyed her shrewdly. Everything she had been doing for the past few weeks had been pointing to interest. She would approach him, the instincts over two thousand years old told him that.

"I may have." Kurama shrugged, reaching into his hair and tugging out the rose. He rolled it between his fingers idly, ignoring the little pricks the thorns left against his skin.

"And yet you're still here. On my bed." Her blue eyes narrowed even further, her black brows drawing down dangerously.

"Obviously." Kurama baited her, wanting her to take another step forward. She did, and now she was standing right in front of him, in arms length. He held back the desire to pull her to him. He could wait.

"Get. Out. Now." She growled. His emerald green eyes were staring at her intently, showing no sign of fear. She almost let out a frustrated scream. She just wanted him to get out of the room, to leave so she could think about what her dream had meant. But he wasn't leaving and he wasn't even giving her that polite little smile. He was staring at her like he was hunting. She ignored the thrilling little shiver that went down her back in another rush of adrenaline.

"I don't think so." He crossed his legs, sitting Indian-style on her bed. Dayne took another step forward and grabbed his arm, trying to tug him off her bed. He felt a faint smile slip across his lips as she let out a frustrated grunt and threw her hands up in the air.

"You're insufferable, you ridiculous fox!" She screamed at him. He was moving now, just his arms. The rose pricked her arm as he grabbed her and tugged her the last two inches to him until she fell undignified in his lap, and then their lips were together.

The anger seeped from Dayne quickly, leaving her surprisingly numb as Kurama's warm lips pushed against hers. His teeth scraped gently across the tender skin, muffling a surprised squeak. Heat was flooding into her cheeks again and she closed her eyes, letting her lips move tentatively. She had never been kissed before, except by Jonathan. And something about this kiss was…right.

"Tell me to stop," Kurama murmured against her lips, ever the gentleman. Except for when he was provoking the icy girl. She shuddered delicately from her sprawled position half in his lap. One of her legs was still hanging off the bed, one hand holding her upright. The other leg was curled against his, the other hand gripping his shoulder tightly. His nostrils flared, smelling a small amount of blood. He had forgotten the rose and its thorns, between his hand and her arm. Her eyes were half-closed and she was breathing heavily against his mouth, her eyes hazy. This time it wasn't a dream making her so relaxed and nonreactive. When she didn't tell him to stop he lowered his lips to hers once again, caressing her trembling mouth with his own. His instincts had been screaming at him for a long time to claim the girl, and now they were settling comfortably. She was his.

When Kurama finally stopped kissing the trembling girl, she slid from his grip, escaping from the room. With a frown, he realized that wasn't what he had expected. He wasn't sure what he had expected.

Dayne slipped into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She turned the shower on and stared at the mirror for a minute, just looking at herself. Her lips were redder than usual and there was a pink flush spread across her cheeks. Her eyes were glittering feverishly and her hair was mussed and there was dried blood dotted on her arm where the rose had grazed against her. The confused look on her face was impossible to hide and she rubbed her cheeks before turning from the reflective glass and stepping under the water. The kiss had been amazing, sweet, and unexpected. And she hadn't even dreamed about it before hand. But it had felt right, and she wanted to kiss him again…

Kurama waited in Dayne's room for a minute, a smile playing on his lips. Sure, she had dodged out of the room, but she had kissed him back. And the way her body had melted into him was exactly the way a woman reacted with a man they liked. It had been the first experience he'd had like that in his human body, and it had been so different with a girl he'd had to pursue and actually really liked. She would come to him again when she was ready. He stood and moved to the guest bedroom. He had used her emotions, strung so tight since the demon's visit, to his advantage.

Dayne stepped out of the shower and turned off the water, watching the puddle gather at her feet. When she started shivering, she wrapped the towel around her and left quietly to her bedroom, both relieved and disappointed to see that Kurama wasn't in there. She went to bed that night thinking of his lips instead of the demon who was out to kill her.

_A large tree obscured Dayne's vision, but she could hear shouts and grunts, and there were flashes of light left and right. The land around her was dark and almost lifeless, with the exception of the one large tree and a few scarce bushes. There was a demon advancing on her, his sharp purple eyes watching her curiously. He extended a scaly hand, the long nail on it scraping against her cheek. She couldn't back away, her legs unresponsive, and she was slowly falling…falling…falling…_


	22. Punching Bag

**Yay for chapter 22! And I'm getting really far in writing ahead, which is nice, cuz I had a pretty impressive mental block going there for over a week =P But anywho, enjoy this lovely chapter! (and in case you forgot, I don't own YYH.)**

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* * *

Distressing Damsel Begone**

Dayne woke up feeling grumpy. She had fallen asleep oddly content and then had a horrible dream that she couldn't remember. It wasn't comforting, and it certainly didn't make her want to face Kurama. She had never had a boyfriend, and therefore she had never had to deal with the after-kiss awkwardness. Plus, she didn't even know why he had done it. He hadn't given her any real signs he liked her…in fact, he didn't even act like he liked her as much as he liked Sagaku.

"Good morning, Dayne." Kurama's voice startled her out of her ponderings. He was standing in her doorway, his red hair falling in a messy tumble past his shoulders. Briefly she thought about giggling, wondering if he looked like that every morning. And was he really wearing matched pajamas? That buttoned up the front? Granted, they looked good on him, but it was still giggle worthy. Kurama was smiling wryly at her obvious scrutiny.

"Good morning, Kurama." She finally responded, tugging her blanket over her shoulders. He was staring at her face, but she still felt oddly self-conscious. Already, she was blushing.

"I think we need to talk. Do you mind if I sit?" Kurama asked, nodding towards the chair at her desk. Dayne nodded her head and watched him turn it towards the bed, sitting calmly in it. She ignored her envy at his calmness, loathing the fact that her heart was already speeding up. Her dad would have been laughing at her so hard.

"So what was it that couldn't wait until we were both fully dressed?" Dayne asked bluntly, trying to hide her red cheeks.

"You," Kurama smiled almost shyly. "I know you're going to be shy about what happened yesterday, so I think we need to talk about it." Dayne rolled her eyes and tried not to groan.

"I don't think we need to talk about that." She said, avoiding his eyes. "I think we can pretend it never happened."

"I don't." Kurama leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees as he watched the embarrassed girl. He wouldn't tell her that as a demon he wanted to claim her as his mate, or play games with her. She was odd enough about emotions that she wouldn't be able to handle his human ones, let alone the more demonic ones.

"Did you mean it then?" Dayne asked, remembering something Sagaku had said about Kurama being overly conscientious unless he was romantically interested in girls. Maybe he was interested in her, even if he hadn't seemed it.

"Of course I meant it." He leaned forward, his thumb brushing down the side of her face briefly. "But I won't do it again unless you ask me to." And with that said, he stood up and left the room. Dayne blinked after him in surprise. Was that him being a gentleman, or was that some sadistic game? She was getting the feeling it was the latter, despite his constant politeness.

* * *

By the time Dayne decided she was ready to face Kurama again, it was almost lunch time. She was dressed and groomed, and tried not to stand close to him. She wasn't sure she wanted to be close to him.

"I think I need to learn how to fight." She said calmly, sitting down at the kitchen table. Kurama put his glass of water down on the table and regarded the girl seriously.

"It's not as easy as you probably think." He stated, his hand caressing hers softly before pulling away. Her pulse pounded fiercely against her wrist.

"I don't think it will be easy at all, but I think something is going to happen and I want to be ready for it." Dayne pulled her hand off the table, holding it awkwardly on her lap. She missed Kurama's amused grin.

"You know I'll protect you. Even I've seen the way you think about me, in your dreams." The read head pointed out. It was true – in almost every single dream he had been unable to control the vines she seemed to always see around him. They were always too busy twining around her, acting as armor.

"You can't always protect me." Dayne countered. "I just want to know I'm not completely defensless."

"Dayne," his voice was gentle, "you're human and you don't have powers like Kuwabara. You wouldn't stand a chance against a demon."

Dayne wasn't sure she liked the way he was acting now, all gentle and sweet instead of just polite. It was making it hard to think. She stood up and smiled courteously at him before stalking angrily out of the room. It was easy for him to say she didn't and wouldn't need to protect herself. He was thinking from the perspective of him being with her. He wouldn't always be there though, and she knew that. No one could stay forever.

Her fingers trembled briefly before she made up her mind, and she dialed Yusuke's number. He would teach her how to fight, she was absolutely sure.

"Do you want to practice with your dreams more?" Kurama peeked around the corner of Dayne's door. Frowning, he realized he couldn't see her, so he stepped into the room all the way. She jumped with surprise and blushed, holding a shirt up around herself.

"What are you _doing_ in here?" She snarled as she tried to turn her body away from him.

"I'm sorry! The door was mostly open!" Kurama turned away from her, hoping his cheeks weren't turning bright red. It felt like they were.

"Get out!" He closed the door just as something thumped against it, presumably the shirt she had been clutching. His heart stuttered and more blood flooded his cheeks before he found the humor in the situation. He would never intentionally sneak a peek at a girl and of course he would accidentally walk in on the one girl he was trying not to chase away. Plus, he had walked in on her twice now - once in her pajamas, and once shirtless. In one day.

There was a noise at the door and Kurama left the hallway gratefully, happy for the distraction. Dayne stayed in her room with her pounding heart, waiting for her cheeks to cool before she retrieved the tee-shirt she had thrown and tugged it on over her head. The knock at the door had to be Yusuke and Kuwabara. Yusuke had said they'd get to her house soon.

"Hey girly-boy." Yusuke greeted Kurama as he walked by him to get into the kitchen.

"So is whats-her-face ready?" Kuwabara asked, waving and grinning broadly at his slightly shorter friend.

"Is Dayne ready for what, may I ask?" Kurama followed the two of them into the kitchen, bemused. What were the two goofs doing here?

"We're helping Dayne. What are you doing here?" Yusuke asked coyly. Kurama sat at the table with the two of them, eying his friends curiously.

"I was under the impression I was helping her." Kurama said.

"Apparently she needed a real man." Kuwabara guffawed and leaned back in his chair. "She called for our help."

"What did she call you for?" Kurama asked, still trying to get to the point.

"They're going to teach me how to fight." Dayne appeared in the hallway, tying her dark hair back into a sloppy bun. "Even if you don't think I need to know how to fight, I would like to learn. At the very least it will make me feel better. I'm sorry to keep you guys waiting."

"No problem. Where to, pretty lady?" Kuwabara asked as he stood up. Yusuke snorted and thumped his rival and friend across the back of his head. "Hey, what was that for Urameshi?" Kuwabara growled before lunging at Yusuke. Dayne slid neatly between the two of them.

"Is the back yard okay for the both of you? I really appreciate you coming out to help me." She disarmed them both with a pleasant smile. Kurama watched with narrowed eyes. She had gone behind his back to get Yusuke and Kuwabara to train him, and from the way she was refusing to meet his eyes, she realized it got to him.

"Sure thing. What do you want to learn first? You're not like Sagaku so I don't think kicking will be the best bet." Yusuke followed the girl out the front door and around the back of the house.

"You didn't see her kick Kurama that one time, though!" Kuwabara countered.

"Can you teach me how to punch, please?" Dayne asked politely, standing awkwardly between the two taller men. She had never learned how to punch, and she wasn't really strong. It would be nice if she could at least do some damage.

"Punching it is!" Kuwabara crowed, pumping his fist into the air. "Make a fist!"

Dayne curled her fingers into her palm, wrapping her thumb around them. She smiled sheepishly when Yusuke and Kuwabara immediately made faces.

"You can't put your thumb there!"

"It'll break!"

The two of them started giving her tips, moving her fingers into the correct positions.

"Now," Yusuke stood beside her and drew his right hand back so his fist was almost level with his ear, "Start out here." Dayne copied the movement. "And then punch forward as hard as you can!" He practiced the motion with her a few times, punching into mid air. Dayne watched him from the corner of her eye. His motions were smooth and almost graceful. Hers felt like they were dislodging her elbow from the rest of her arm.

"Good, you've got it!" Kuwabara grinned broadly and moved in front of her, holding out his hand so his palm faced her. "Now try hitting my hand!" She punched his hand, surprisingly hitting it on her first try. Both Yusuke and Kuwabara made another face, realizing her punches were weak.

"I told you it would be easier to let us worry about the fighting." Kurama had followed them into the back yard at some point and was watching Dayne go through the motions weakly. She seethed a little, not turning to look at him.

"Hey, learning to fight might do her some good! And you shouldn't talk to a girl like that!" Kuwabara lectured the redhead, frowning slightly. Since when was Kurama so rude? But then Dayne's next punch thudded perfectly into his palm, forcing his elbow to bend. "Oof!"

"Ow!" Dayne shook out her fist, surprised at the sudden pain in her bones.

"Come on! It's supposed to hurt! Keep going!" Yusuke ordered, turning his gaze curiously to Kurama. Kurama was frowning, watching the back of the black-haired girl.


	23. Lesson Two

**It's been brought to my attention that the chapters aren't all showing up, so I've been sorta keeping my eye on it all night and what not – and it's true! For some reason it registers the chapters are there, but you can't actually see them for hours and hours. Unfortunately, from my digging around, I've come to the conclusion that it's nothing I can fix =[ So if it says I have 24 chapters or what not, and you don't see them all, the best I can say is check again later, I'm sorry =[**

**But anywho, enjoy this chapter. And just to clear things up, because Dayne acts differently in this chapter, it's not me losing touch. There is a reason! Yay reasons! And not Yay, because I do not own YYH.**

**Enjoy!**

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* * *

Drunk on Demons**

"I'm sore." Dayne groaned, trying to sit straight in her chair. She gave up, though, and slumped against the table.

"You did really good, for your first time!" Kuwabara said cheerfully, guzzling down a glass of water.

"Yeah, you punch as hard as Keiko and she's had years of practice." Yusuke added, his head on the table across from her.

"Thank you, both of you. Is there any chance you can teach me some more some time?" Dayne asked politely, hoping they would agree. She wasn't sure if she should admit it out loud, but learning those different punches was…exhilarating.

"How about tomorrow?" Yusuke asked, cracking his knuckles as he finally sat up in his seat.

"Would you guys like to eat dinner here again?" Dayne offered, her way of paying them back for their lessons.

"Well, I can't leave Yukina alone with Teisei for that long…" Kuwabara pointed out. Yusuke nodded in agreement.

"Not that I have a baby to take care of, but Keiko might have something planned. We'll see where it goes tomorrow!" He stood from the seat and clapped the sore girl on the shoulder. "In the meantime, I'm headed out. See you fools later." He nodded at the redheaded fox and punched Kuwabara in the arm before walking out the front door.

"Hey! Urameshi, that's _my_ car!" Kuwabara jumped up and raced out the door after his friend.

"Do you really feel like learning to punch is going to help?" Kurama asked curiously, finally addressing the girl. She was still avoiding his gaze.

"It'll help as much as learning to pick up a rock in my dreams." She pointed out, a little snootily. Kurama frowned, knowing she had a point. "Why do you care so much, anyways?" She was looking pointedly at his chin, an awkward focal point.

"It's a waste of time. Since you're a human, trying to use a physical advantage is pointless – most demons are much, much stronger than you." He kept his voice level and stared at her face, daring her to meet his eyes again. She was acting like a chided puppy.

"You forget," Dayne stood up and brushed by him, "I'm not all human."

Kurama watched the girl head to her room and close the door before he stood up. If she thought having a small percentage of demon blood was going to help, she was wrong. Then again, it had helped Yusuke…He sneered at her door, glad no one was there to judge him, and then opened the front door to leave. She obviously didn't need him there that night.

"Kinda thought you'd be following us out." Yusuke appeared from beside the door.

"Yeah, Kurama, what's the deal?" Kuwabara appeared from the other side.

"What are you guys talking about?" Kurama's smile was a little forced.

"You're being rude and possessive. You're never like that." Kuwabara pointed out. "Even in the tournament, you were polite."

"Except that he was killing things." Yusuke sniggered.

"Nothing is going on. I'm sorry I worried you guys." Kurama was smiling now, relaxed with his friends. Now that they mentioned it, he had been rude and possessive. He hadn't realized when it started, but that was probably the reason Dayne had gone behind his back to get some help learning to fight. Maybe he should offer to teach her himself.

"You guys really don't like each other, I guess." Kuwabara shrugged, tucking his hands behind his head. Yusuke snorted and punched Kuwabara again.

"I think it's the opposite, dipshit." He snapped at the oaf. Kuwabara snapped back, and dove at him, his fists flailing. Kurama rolled his eyes and followed them to the car. His mother would probably be wondering where he was at. She was always asking him when he was going to be over and when he was staying out for the night. He knew she was curious as to where he had been staying.

Dayne listened to the boys wrestle from her window. She had known the second Kurama had stepped outside, and was surprised when she heard him talking to someone. He was treating her worse than everyone else, according to Yusuke and Kuwabara. A frown twisted down on her lips as she pondered what they had said. He had started acting that way ever since the demon attacked at the park. Maybe he was just scared, or anxious, and taking it out on her.

* * *

Dayne woke up early the next morning and took her time moving around the kitchen. Her arms were still really sore, and if she was planning on learning more that day it would be wise to eat breakfast. There was a knock at the door when she was busy cleaning the frying pan she had used, and she frowned as she wiped her sudsy hands on her pants as she went to go answer it. No demon had ever bothered knocking.

"Pip!" Two tanned arms were thrown around her neck and she found herself pressed against a warm, hard body.

"Jonathan?" She asked, trying to tug away to look up.

"Yeah, I told you I'd be here in a day or two! How have you been, girl?" He let go and stepped back, grinning broadly at her as he ran a hand through his golden curls. "Can I come in? I have my bags." He gestured to the two suitcases at his feet.

"Yes, of course, come in!" Dayne stepped back in a daze, letting Jonathan pass her into the house. She had basically forgotten he was coming over, what with the visit from the demon and being so focused on learning to fight.

"I had to get on a flight last night. It sucked, the person next to me puked." Jonathan's nose wrinkled as he yammered to the girl. "I'm glad I came, though. We've all been worried about you. Wow, pip, you haven't changed the place at all!" He was looking around the hall.

"I haven't had any reason to change it." Dayne smiled at his short focus. "If you want to take a shower or a nap, feel free. Do you need anything?" It would be nice having company, even if the little voice in her head was telling her that he was dangerous. Her dreams weren't always right, and he was so disarming…there was no way the lovable southern boy was truly dangerous.

"Yeah, I think I'll jump in the shower. Mind if I use your shampoo? I forgot to pack mine." He was already headed down the hall.

"That's fine." Dayne called after him, and then went to sit at the kitchen table with a notebook. She had a final coming up in one day, and she needed to be ready for it. The sound of water running was a comforting backdrop, a cozy noise. Kurama rarely stayed long enough to actually need to use her shower. And, if she was going to be honest, she didn't know if he'd be coming back. Ever since that one kiss…he probably knew he'd made a mistake. She was just surprised that he was running away.

Another knock on the door lifted Dayne's head from her notes. Before she could stand up, though, the door was flung open.

"Don't throw anything at me!" It was Yusuke's voice, and he wandered into the kitchen.

"What are you doing up so early?" Dayne asked happily, aware that the water had turned off in the background.

"It's almost noon and Sagaku woke me up early because she needed Keiko for something. Ready to go practice?" He grinned widely, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Kuwabara is probably still asleep but he'll get here sooner or later."

"I'm here now, Urameshi! Way to try to leave me behind!" Kuwabara shouted from the open door. He stomped into the kitchen. "I had to get Shizuru to drive me here! Will you stop taking my car?"

"You shouldn't be driving anyways!" Yusuke shouted at his accusing friend.

"Like you're any better!"

"Take that back!" And then the two were throwing punches at each other.

"What's going on?" Jonathan asked mildly from the hallway. He was wearing a pair of loose denim jeans and he was toweling off his hair, eying the duo curiously. Dayne smiled wryly.

"This is my friend Yusuke, and this is my friend Kuwabara. I'm sorry if they disturbed you." She answered with a smile, waving a hand at the carrot-top and the dark-haired hanyou.

"Not at all. Uhm…are they gonna be okay?" He cocked an eyebrow as Kuwabara rammed Yusuke's head into the wall, retribution for his own hitting the floor.

"I think so. They do this frequently," Dayne admitted, absurdly pleased to have so much company. She didn't realize how much she was always missing it.

"Hey, who're you?" Kuwabara demanded from the headlock Yusuke had him in. Yusuke dropped him immediately, whirling on Dayne.

"Who is he, is he bothering you?" He was cracking his knuckled. Jonathan actually burst out laughing.

"I'm an old family friend. Jonathan." He held out his hand. Kuwabara shook it immediately, pumping it up and down enthusiastically. Yusuke sneered as delicately as he could before turning.

"Come on, Dayne, we need to go practice." And with that he took off for the front door. Kuwabara swung an arm around Dayne and followed.

"Yeah, this time you'll beat Yusuke up for sure!" He said happily. Jonathan followed.

"Dayne, what's going on exactly?" He asked warily, resting the towel over his shoulders. Not that Dayne would ever admit it out loud or on paper, but he looked rather nice without a shirt on. Farming did wonders for boyish muscles.

"They're teaching me self-defense, since I'm living alone." She smiled back at him as she was dragged into the backyard. Her nerves were absolutely buzzing with delight. The company was sending dizzying waves of endorphins throughout her body.

"I actually came here to talk to you about that." Jonathan pointed out. Kuwabara whirled around on him, having reached the small backyard.

"Woah, what do you mean by that?" He prodded the shorter man with his finger.

"Yeah, Dayne doesn't need anyone living with her!" Yusuke defended the girl vehemently.

"Jonathan," Dayne smiled, "you know I'm fine." He frowned discontentedly but didn't say anything else on the subject.

Surprisingly, Jonathan learned some of the holds with Dayne. When he asked if he could join in, Yusuke had grunted a disgruntled 'Yeah' and they had paired off. Jonathan was, not so surprisingly, better at it than Dayne. She tried to flip Kuwabara past her and the best she managed was making him take a step forward.

"You'll get it, sooner or later," Kuwabara kept reassuring her, but after an hour or two, he had switched to teaching her specific kicks. She was much better at those.

"Well," Dayne swallowed a gulp of water during one of their breaks, "at the very least I can kick and scream until someone comes to rescue me."

"Your neighbors do live really close. They could call the cops." Jonathan nodded. Dayne blinked in surprise. She had forgotten that he didn't know about demons. As Kurama had forcibly told her months ago, human cops wouldn't do much good against them. Yusuke snorted.

"Come on, I'm exhausted. Let's go do something fun." Jonathan ignored everyone's reactions and headed for the front of the house.

"Where'd you find that winner?" Yusuke muttered sarcastically to Dayne as he passed her. She didn't respond, not letting his grumpiness affect her. She was still oddly euphoric despite her soreness returning with a vengeance.

"How come Kurama isn't here yet?" Kuwabara asked as they all filed back inside. Dayne led them to the rarely used living room.

"Kurama? That no good son of a…I mean, he still hangs around?" Jonathan groused, spreading out across the couch.

"You don't like Kurama?" Kuwabara sneered. The two team mates were beginning to find that they didn't like the golden-haired boy all that much. He shrugged.

"I think he's unnecessarily pushy when it comes to Dayne." He didn't smile. Dayne giggled and flounced down to sit on the floor by Jonathan.

"Silly." She chided him, poking his nose. "Kurama just doesn't know how to handle me 'cuz I'm not like other girls." She giggled again. All three boys looked at her oddly, but her eyes were closed to their scrutiny. "He kissed me and now he's all angry 'cuz I won't ask him to kiss me again." She blathered on, flopping back to lay on the floor.

"Dayne…are you okay?" Kuwabara asked, leaning over the girl he had only really met the other day. Yusuke frowned, peering at her as well.


	24. The Problem

**Hehe, I love my readers =] So yeah, thanks for the reviews, it's sweet ^.^**

**And, as we all know, I don't own YYH. On another note, I leave for school in two weeks, so I'm hoping (of course who knows if this will actually happen cuz I'm not anywhere close to the end in my writing) to have most of the story, if not all, posted by then. Why? Because I don't want to accidentally forget about it (which is unlikely but possible) while I'm at school. It would be horribly rude. **

**But enjoy! Here's some more Drunk-Dayne!**

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Drunk on Demons (II)**

"Dayne…are you okay?" Kuwabara asked, leaning over the girl he had only really met the other day. Yusuke frowned, peering at her as well.

"What's wrong, Dayne?" He asked. Jonathan was leaning over the couch too, frowning curiously at the black-haired girl. She was looking at the ceiling and mouthing something quietly to herself before she answered them.

"Of course I'm okay! I'm just happy to have people here. I like people." She smiled secretively at them, putting a finger to the side of her nose.

"Kuwabara, maybe you should call Kurama. Or Koenma. Or someone." Yusuke tried to make Dayne stand, but she refused, giggling some more.

"I really do like people even if they annoy me most of the time. Don't call Kurama, he doesn't like me. I don't like him. Actually, I do like him. But not really." Dayne stuck her tongue out at Yusuke and Jonathan as Kuwabara dialed Kurama's number frantically in the background.

"Are you drunk, Dayne?" Jonathan asked nervously, trying to get a good look at her eyes.

"I don't drink. Drinking is pointless. And gross. I don't like drinking." Dayne stood up gracefully, almost knocking both men back. "Let's go practice some more!" She pumped her fist into the air and took off towards the door.

"Uhm, I think that would be a bad idea. How about we wait for Kurama to get here." Yusuke grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

_A demon sprawled across the flower-printed couch, his long red nail pointing at Dayne idly. She narrowed her eyes._

_ "What's going on?" She asked, not even bothering to wonder who he was._

_ "Is this a dream?" Yusuke asked from beside her, his hand still on her arm._

_ "Yes. Why do I feel funny out there?" Dayne asked him bluntly, her lips twisted in a worried frown. _

_ "That's me. But you can't reach me!" The demon on the couch sang gleefully, spinning red hair around his red-tipped finger. _

_ "So what are you doing to me?" Dayne asked, her voice poisonously sweet. This demon wasn't intimidating. It wasn't the dark demon who was stalking her._

_ "Making you happy. Isn't that what you want?" He smiled broadly, fanged, deteriorating teeth flashing through his thin lips. _

"He was funny looking!" Dayne declared, tugging on Yusuke's arm.

"Kuwabara," Yusuke said in a strained voice, "Get Kurama over here right now."

"Shouldn't we take her to a hospital or something? Did someone slip her a drug? She was acting normal earlier!" Jonathan clustered close to Dayne, trying to feel her forehead.

"You don't look funny. You're kinda cute." She smiled at him, pulling one of his curls.

"Thanks, but I don't think that's the issue at hand right now." He knocked her hand aside. She pouted.

"He's on his way!" Kuwabara interrupted the exchange triumphantly.

"Ew, he's gonna be all serious. So not cool." Dayne slipped out of Yusuke's grip and jumped up and down in place. "Let's call Sagaku instead! I bet she would be fun!"

"The good news is, Sagaku is coming! And so is Keiko and the Shrimp." Kuwabara said, trying to avoid Dayne's sudden leap.

"Oh good! I haven't met Keiko! Is she nice?" She said loudly into his ear, stretching all the way up onto her toes to reach him.

"Er…hahaha…uhm. Yeah?" Kuwabara tried to push Dayne away. Jonathan got his hands around her shoulders.

"Come on, Dayne, why don't we sit down. Are you guys sure we don't need to call a doctor?" He asked while tugging Dayne to the couch. "I feel like it's getting worse."

"So wait, you don't like Kurama but you having nothing to say about Hiei?" Yusuke ignored the blonde, turning incredulous eyes to the normally stoic girl.

"Hiei is just Hiei. Kurama is creepy." Dayne leaned forward, away from Jonathan. "I don't think you're creepy, though." She whispered to him as if it was a big secret.

"Guys, make her stop." Yusuke groaned, rubbing his face. What on earth was affecting her like this? Did she take drugs? She hadn't been so…bubbly when he got to her house. Just a little, uncharacteristically, happy. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Jonathan's hand around Dayne's mouth to muffle her endless commentary. There was a knock on the door, and then it opened to admit Kurama and the others.

"What are you doing here?" Kurama froze in his tracks, staring at the human with surprise. He had forgotten Jonathan would be in Japan again.

"I could ask you the same." Jonathan snapped, loosening his hold on Dayne's mouth to pull her closer.

"Sagaku!" Dayne squealed loudly, jerking from Jonathan's grip and launching herself at the short brunette. Then she whirled on the other girl. "Keiko!" Keiko chuckled a little nervously but hugged the girl back. "I've never met you before but Kuwabara says you're nice. So does Sagaku. Where's Botan? I've never met her!"

"Oh boy," Sagaku grinned ruefully, "this is a problem."

"What's a problem? Can I help?" Dayne grinned, tilting her body forward to give Sagaku another hug. Hiei sneered and backed away from his mate, putting some distance between himself and the ningen girl.

"Dayne, do you feel weird at all?" Kurama asked, trying to peel her off the two other girls.

"I'm not answering your questions!" Dayne declared with a smile. "Sagaku, where's Nenriki? Can I see him again?"

"Please make her shut up." Yusuke groaned.

"Dayne, can you sit down with me please?" Kurama requested, finally managing to break her grip on the two girls.

"I don't want to! Ever since you kissed me you've been _mean_." Dayne hopped away from him, hiding behind Keiko and Sagaku. "Hey, we should play a game! I like games!"

"Kurama kissed you?" Sagaku interrupted, sounding curious despite herself.

"Mmhm." Dayne leaned forward and whispered into Sagaku's ear. "But now he's angry at me."

"I'm not angry at you." Kurama sighed, his emerald eyes begging Sagaku and Keiko to help.

"I know a game! Come on, Dayne, sit down right here." Keiko smiled kindly at the girl, folding her legs Indian style on the ground. Dayne plopped down next to her happily. Kurama and Sagaku quickly sat down as well, and Yusuke moved to stand behind the girl in case she stood up and tried to move again.

"What game, what do I do?" Dayne smiled widely, clearly excited for the game.

"Uhm…" Keiko faltered.

"You have to dream, first." Kurama put his hand on her knee.

"Hey!" Jonathan exploded from the couch. "Get your hand off her!" Dayne giggled and craned her head back to look at him.

"You're like a knight!" She exclaimed. "But I don't want you kissing me either." Jonathan started flushing dull red, his eyes narrowing at her. Then her expression went blank and the room went silent.

_"Kurama, make it stop!" Dayne demanded. "I don't know what's going on, but I don't like it."_

_ "Oh good," he said mildly, "you sound…sane again." Green tendrils were creeping off his skin, entwining gracefully around Dayne. She stepped closer to Kurama to avoid tugging against the vines. _

_ "I had a brief dream with Yusuke. There was a demon somewhere here. He said he was making it happen." She warned him. "Yusuke didn't understand, and obviously I'm unable to make an legitimate points out there." She glanced around the black wasteland they stood in._

_ "I don't sense any demons but Yusuke, Hiei, and myself." Kurama frowned at her._

_ "There's another one here." Dayne groaned and buried her head against Kurama's chest. "Please make it stop. It's bad. Something happening inside me." Kurama raised his hand to the back of her head, surprised at the contact. She wasn't really a touchy-feely person._

_ "I'm not angry at you." He murmured to her._

_ "I know." Dayne tried to pull away, but the vines were wrapped around the two of them like ropes. "Just…fix it. Please."_

"So what's the diagnosis, doctor?" Kuwabara asked when Kurama and Dayne were focused on the real world again.

"He's not a doctor, silly!" Dayne giggled, grabbing onto Kurama's hand and tugging it back and forth. "He's just a d-"

"Kuwabara, could you please go with Jonathan to pick up some chamomile tea, a fresh lemon, some rosemary and dried eucalyptus leaves?" Kurama asked the tallest person in the room.

"Uh, sure." Kuwabara frowned and turned to Jonathan. He was sneering, but he walked to the door, waiting for Kuwabara to follow. The door shut behind them.

Everyone waited a second, except for Dayne who was trying to tell Yusuke about the first time she had a dream about Sagaku, and then once Kuwabara's car started up, so did the questions.

"What's going on?" Keiko asked Kurama, turning sharply to face him.

"A demon is causing this…drunk behavior." Kurama answered, turning to face Hiei. "Did you sense anything?" He asked the short demon.

"Nothing." Hiei answered, reaching up to untie the bandana around his forehead.

"A demon is causing her to act like a child? She said something like that when she got that vision." Yusuke shrugged. "I didn't think it was real because we would sense it."

"So what's up with the random groceries you sent Jonathan and Kuwabara to get?" Sagaku asked, patting Dayne's hand idly. Dayne blinked at her, a pit forming in her stomach. She was getting light-headed, and there was a weird feeling all over her.

"I had to get the demon away from her. Kuwabara and Yusuke said she seemed normal at first, so it had to be a close-range, gradual process." Kurama explained. Dayne suddenly bolted up and dodged to the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

"Oh," Dayne whimpered, crouched over the toilet. The heaving was mostly dry, but it left her shaking. She could still hear the others talking in the living room, even as blood sped up to her face to properly share her embarrassment. Her mother was probably rolling over in her grave, disappointed to no end at what had just happened. How could she have acted like such a fool?


	25. Familial Encounter

**Welcome back, favorite-readers-of-mine =] I'm on a roll with writing so I might **** - That says MIGHT post another chapter today! Yay chapters!**

**And, as we all know and are well familiar with, I do not own YYH. But I do write pretty nifty chapters about it =P So enjoy!**

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Solution and Plans and More Questions…Oh My.**

"Oh," Dayne whimpered, crouched over the toilet. The heaving was mostly dry, but it left her shaking. She could still hear the others talking in the living room, even as blood sped up to her face to properly share her embarrassment. Her mother was probably rolling over in her grave, disappointed to no end at what had just happened. How could she have acted like such a fool?

"I thought you didn't sense any demons." Dayne could faintly hear Sagaku say.

"No, but Dayne had a few dreams about Jonathan recently that made me think about it. What we just saw a few minutes ago involved a demon being in the room. Obviously none of us have that power, so all that left was Jonathan." Kurama gave his long-winded explanation. Dayne sat quietly on the cold tile floor, feeling more bile rise in her stomach. Jonathan wasn't involved with demons. He absolutely couldn't be. They had known each other forever, and no matter what delusions he had about the two of them, he could never try to hurt her. Then again, it hadn't really been hurting her until he left…But he left willingly. Maybe he didn't know he was housing a demon?

There was a quiet knock at the bathroom door. Dayne looked at it before leaning over the toilet again. She was embarrassed as it was, no one needed to see her being sick too.

"Are you okay?" It was the girl she didn't know yet, Keiko. The girl she had launched herself at despite the fact they didn't know each other.

"I'm so sorry. I'll be out in a while, I'll be fine." Dayne tried to speak clearly although she really wanted to mutter and curl up in a corner and die. What could Jonathan gain by dealing with demons? But Kurama's logic was sound, and she felt in control again. Except for the being sick part.

"Do you need anything?" The voice was deeper than Keiko's voice. It was Kurama. Dayne blushed dully. What had she even said to him during the short time he'd been there? Announcing that he'd kissed her was bad enough, but she was pretty sure she said a few other things, too.

"No thank you." She couldn't help it if she was starting to sound frosty. She wanted to be embarrassed in peace, and the people hovering around weren't helping.

"Kurama," she heard Sagaku say thoughtfully, "How are you supposed to keep this from happening again? And why does it only affect her?"

"We'll have to get her away from Jonathan, until we think of something else. And I don't know why it only affects her." Kurama answered. Dayne could practically hear the puzzled frown he was sure to have on his face.

"Hn. It might have affected the detective's girl, too, if she'd been here long enough. They're humans." Hiei's chilling voice pointed out. Dayne frowned at that. She was part demon, wasn't she? Obviously not enough to make her powerful, but shouldn't it have been enough to slow down whatever had happened?

"Or it might have to be directed." Yusuke said. Dayne wondered how much longer she would be sitting on the bathroom floor before they left.

"Either way, we still have a problem. How do we get her away from the American?" Sagaku interrupted the flow of conversation.

"We'll just have to pack her up and leave." Yusuke sounded so sure of himself. Dayne groaned. Hadn't they been over this whole 'drop everything and leave' thing before? Or maybe it was just that 'drop everything and house a guardian' sounded the same to her.

"Well, let's hurry before Kuwabara gets back with Jonathan." Keiko sounded very confident, and there was a sudden flurry of movement.

"I guess I'll pack up some of her clothes. Kurama, can you make sure she's not still sick?" Sagaku asked, her voice traveling farther down the hall. There was another gentle knock on the bathroom door.

"Dayne, I'm coming in." Kurama warned, and the door opened enough for him to slip in. He knelt in front of her, his green eyes scanning her clinically. They certainly didn't have the same curious fire they'd held the other night. "Are you still feeling the effects?" The redhead asked, reaching forward to feel her forehead. She was clammy, but not feverish.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for your help." Dayne watched him with guarded eyes. Was he just going to pick her up kicking and screaming to make her leave.

"You know we're only doing it to help you." He drew his hand back slowly from her sweaty hair, brushing it out of her face.

"I know." Dayne surprised him by admitting. It wasn't that she was stupid, though. She just didn't want to leave her house, especially because no matter how much sense it all made, she just couldn't see Jonathan as being the problem. He was slightly vicious and hurtful sometimes, sure, but he was a boy. All boys were like that. Kurama watched as her brilliant blue eyes closed, her skin flushing red again. He suppressed a grin. She could act as cold as she desired whenever she thought he was being too forward, but that's not how she was meant to be. She reacted to him like a flower to the sun.

"You'll stay with me, at my house." He told her. Her eyes shot open, staring at him with something close to panic.

"You mean with your mom and her husband and your little brother?" Dayne asked in a gasp. Sure, they weren't going out, but it was still bound to be awkward.

"Step-brother," Kurama corrected, tracing his knuckles through her hair and down her neck. She shivered and shifted away from him.

"Are you sure I can't just stay here?" She asked, trying not to sound ungrateful.

"What if Jonathan is connected to the other demon? Is it worth the risk?" Kurama pointed out.

"He's going to notice that I'm gone." Dayne countered.

"We'll pull a disappearing act. We can go camping, instead. But I still want you to meet my family." He wasn't sure why he wanted her to meet his family so badly, but he wasn't backing down. If he was going to pursue her in the demon way, he would at least try to balance it with the human way too. It was sure to be more comforting to her.

* * *

At the end of it, Yusuke had a bruise across one cheekbone and Dayne was being led mutinously to the car. It was pertinent to rush, they kept saying. She hadn't even been allowed to pack her own clothes. The only thing she had been allowed to grab was her bathroom stuff, and only because she had been in there with it all.

They had to move quickly from place to place, stopping at Yusuke's and Keiko's to get some cooking supplies, and stopping at Sagaku's and Hiei's where Dayne met Yukina (who was holding Nenriki and her own baby) to grab extra sleeping supplies. By the time it was only Kurama and Dayne left in the car, she was seething. He wasn't acting like a ray of sunshine, either, mostly because he was just driving. He hoped she would cheer up before he introduced her to his mom though, because this attitude wouldn't make a very good impression.

"Shuichi!" His mom called happily from the kitchen when he announced his presence as they walked into his house. She was wiping her hands on her apron when she walked out into the front room, and her eyes met Dayne's curiously.

"Mom, this is my friend Dayne Ippin." Kurama introduced Dayne, hoping she wasn't angry at him.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Minamino." Dayne bowed politely.

"It's nice to meet you too, Dayne! Are you hungry? I can put some soup on, or – "

"Honey, Suuichi can't find his math book; have you seen it?" Someone called from the other room. Dayne shot a startled look at the loud call. Even when her dad had been alive they had found each other if there was something to say. They never yelled across the house.

"We have a guest! And no, I'm afraid I haven't seen it!" Kurama's mother called back, albeit politely. Dayne hid a smile as she realized Kurama probably got his manners from her, even if he used them to hide who he really was.

"We actually have to go soon, mom. I'm just stopping by to get some clothes." Kurama smiled kindly at the shorter lady and she smiled sadly back. It was hard, getting used to her son growing up.

"That's too bad. Maybe next time you can stay for dinner, Dayne." She turned her gracious smile to the girl who smiled pleasantly back.

"I would love to." Dayne replied.

"Hey, I know I had my book here somewhere." A short, young teenager skidded around the corner of the hall. He froze, seeing Dayne and Kurama.

"I'll be right back." Kurama murmured to Dayne, and then left to what she had to presume was his bedroom.

"This is Suuichi, my step-son. Suuichi, this is Dayne, one of Shuichi's friends." Kurama's mother introduced the two of them, but when Dayne proffered her hand, he turned bright red and mumbled something before bolting back to whence he came. "He's shy, sometimes." Kurama's mom explained with a chuckle. Dayne found herself grinning lightly. It was nice, seeing a family act so…normal – almost like the families in movies and on tv.


	26. Ask to Receive

**Yay for this chapter! **

**Enjoy it, dear readers, and let me say thanks again to everyone who reviewed! It's absolutely haeart-warming =P **

**Don't own YYH, blah blah blah, continue reading.**

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* * *

Camping With A Fox**

Kurama and Dayne were both silent in the car again. They had gotten into a brief argument over whether or not camping was necessary, but as Kurama pointed out, a hotel could be traced. In the woods, however…it was unlikely to the point of impossible that they would be found. Dayne had fallen into a moody silence, uncomfortable with staying so secluded with the redhead. He made her heart hammer, made her breaths uneven and hectic. He even made her head spin, if he got close to her when she wasn't expecting it. But she didn't want to like him, human or demon or anything in between.

Kurama, on the other hand, was looking forward to camping. Dayne was a puzzle he was going to figure out, and being secluded with her was the best way. Plus, the chances of her stalker demon finding her would be slim.

They were in the car for hours before Kurama pulled off on a side road, and then another smaller road. The sun had long since disappeared by the time he stopped the car and turned it off.

"Do you want me to get the fire started or to put up the tent?" Dayne asked, stretching her long legs at the side of the black vehicle. Kurama blinked in surprise. He hadn't thought she would know what to do, especially since she seemed like such a city girl. Dayne saw his surprise and interpreted it correctly. "I spent years on a farm, don't forget." She reminded him. "I know how to do way more than just set up a campsite."

"I didn't even think of that," Kurama admitted sheepishly, "But I'm comfortable doing either one. Which one would you like to do?"

"There you go, being all polite again." She grumbled. "Do we have a lighter or a flint?"

"Dayne, I'm always polite. It's just the way I am." Kurama sighed, knowing it was a source of distress for her. "And I brought a lighter." He pulled it out of his pocket.

"Pass it over." She demanded, ignoring his protestations of politeness and holding out her hand for the lighter. Kurama handed it to her, resisting the urge to brush his fingers against her palm. Doubtless she would get all flustered and ignore him again, which could be amusing but also annoying. Dayne took the lighter and her bag, plus a bag of the cooking supplies and food. Kurama was left with his own bag and the tent, which he slung over his shoulder. He led the way into the dark woods.

Dayne hissed, trying to keep up with Kurama while her eyes adjusted. He was moving swiftly and silently over protruding roots and uneven ground, but Dayne had to go more slowly and she certainly was silent. The third time she tripped she also fell heavily against Kurama. He kept his balance and looked around, his green eyes gleaming in the darkness.

"Are you okay camping here?" He asked, looking over her shoulder at the fuming and embarrassed girl.

"Here's fine." She snapped. She stalked past him and threw her bags into the small opening in the trees, hardly big enough to classify as a clearing. He put his own bags down as she began moving around the outskirts of the opening, tugging the shapes that looked like branches into a pile. She also began feeling around for rocks and stones to circle the fire with. By the time she had set it up to a satisfactory level and caught the dried leaved and branches on fire, Kurama had the tent up.

Kurama sat next to Dayne, watching her from the corner of his eye. The fire made her skin appear rosier than usual, and it reflected oranges and golds off her dark hair. She had her eyes narrowed at the flames, her chin resting on her knees.

"Let's practice." Kurama finally said, realizing Dayne was going to continue ignoring him.

"Practice what?" She asked without turning to face him. He stood up and started digging through his bag, searching for something that would work as a blindfold. The best he could find was a long-sleeved shirt, and he didn't think that would work too well. A wicked thought crossed his mind, an entertaining one, and he considered it for a moment. It would probably anger the human more, but at the same time it was how things were done in the Makai. Demons didn't flirt from a five foot distance, carefully avoiding all contact and hiding even their ankles. Flirting the human way was obscene, and if he was going to be quite candid, he didn't understand its appeal.

Dayne jumped, startled out of her mind when Kurama crouched behind her and put his warm palms over her eyes. If the fire hadn't already heated her cheeks, they would have been rosier than tomatoes.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, feeling his heat from behind her. Her heart beat was beginning to pick up speed, thundering in her chest like derby horses.

"Practicing," Kurama murmured, his lips only a few inches above her head. "What's to the left of us?" He asked. Dayne stiffened. This wasn't about practicing, and she wasn't foolish enough to think otherwise, but if he wanted to play games then so be it. She wasn't going to lose.

"The corner peg of the tent, the cooking supplies, about two extra feet of almost-even ground, and then it gets too dark to see because of the trees." She answered tersely. Just because it had been a few days since they'd last practiced didn't mean that she'd gotten sloppy.

"That's very good." He said happily. "Can you tell me what's to the right?" His thumbs were stroking lightly against her ears.

"A messy pile of branches, a dip in the ground that I almost broke my ankle on, and at least two trees with low hanging branches." Dayne answered again, jerking her chin up in an attempt to dislodge his fingers. It was a mistake; now Kurama's warm breath was blowing onto the back of her head, tickling her scalp. The longer it went on, the less she wanted it to stop.

"How about right in front of you? You're very good at this, you know." Thoughts were chasing around his head, wondering if it was wrong to be this close to her, wrong to use tricks he had learned over a thousand years ago on the girl. But it didn't feel wrong, being so close to her, like it had with Sagaku and the other girls. He was actively pursuing her and it felt…right. He couldn't think of any word to describe it better. It just fit. She fit.

"The fire," Dayne unconsciously tilted her head back a little further, only scant centimeters from leaning against him. "Hmm. Shadows. More trees." She didn't remember really seeing anything, or feeling anything, in that direction. Kurama chuckled, ruffling the hair on the top of her head.

"Well maybe not so good. Tell me, what's behind you?" He asked quietly, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply. She smelled like cotton, tree sap, and faintly of vanilla soap and sweat. The blend was intoxicating. He wondered how humans could overlook things like the power of scent, because perfumes were nothing more than camouflage. Dayne relaxed another centimeter or so, her hair almost grazing his lips. He held himself perfectly still as he waited for her to answer.

"I don't…I don't remember." She bit her lower lip, not wanting to admit that she couldn't concentrate on what was around them. She couldn't concentrate on anything but how he felt, how near he was to her.

"Please, ask me to kiss you." His voice was husky, strained as he tried not to act like the demon he suppressed for years.

"No," Dayne refused, but she didn't pull away.

"I won't kiss, then." Kurama growled lightly, his hands pulling away from her face. Dayne didn't open her eyes, didn't move. He was pulling the hair lightly away from his shoulders, lowering his mouth…his lips grazed her shoulder but he didn't kiss. Air from his breathing warmed her neck, raising goosebumps at the same time. His teeth scraped softly against the junction at her neck and shoulder. She stifled a gasp. "Tell me to stop, if I make you uncomfortable." Kurama whispered against her skin, wondering if he would stop even if she told him to. She didn't say anything. His hands lowered to her upper arms, tightening against them. Her head tilted back a little further. In another demon, it would be surrender or an admission of submission. In her…he didn't know what it meant.

Kurama nuzzled his nose against Dayne's neck, his tongue flicking lightly against the small dip behind her ear. She shuddered in his hands, pressing back until she was against his knees, and then his thighs.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked her, giving her the option to back out once again. He had known her verbal dislike of him had only been verbal. Even his dislike of her had been…attraction, to say the least. Animalistic attraction, thus his aversion to her personality and temperament, but he knew what he wanted and it wasn't just because of the animalistic urgings. Not anymore, anyways.

Dayne wasn't sure if she wanted him to stop. Every nerve in her body was quivering like a dog on point, aching to continue. Was it wise to let him hold her like this, though? No man ever had, not even Jonathan in his attempts to romance her. Why should she let Kurama? But she wanted to let him, craved for him to continue…and she was going to let him.

"Dayne, you have to answer." His voice was calming down, his hands loosening. He was worried he had frightened her or made her feel as though he was pushing himself on her. When she breathed out the word no, her fingers suddenly finding his legs and gripping them tightly, his entire body jolted with something like electricity. He moved slower now, though, running his fingers through her silky tresses, skimming his fingers along the back of her shirt. She pressed harder against him, and he straightened, taking her shoulders and turning her to face him. Her eyes were hazy again, like they had been when he kissed her, her pink lips parted and expecting. He didn't kiss her. He wasn't going to, not until she asked. His thumbs rubbed lightly against her face, exploring the contours. She opened her eyes wider, looking up questioningly.

"Not until you ask." He tried telling her, tried to make her understand. He wouldn't throw himself at her like last time, not until she made it clear it's what she really wanted.

"I'm not going to ask." She leaned forward, craning her neck when he put his hands on her shoulder to hold her back. "I'm not going to ask," she repeated, "I'm going to tell you to. Kiss me, Kurama, otherwise I'm backing out and not giving you another chance." Her voice sounded different, too, something husky and warm as opposed to cool and almost unresponsive. Kurama's lips curved into a smile as he pulled her to him, his lips lowering to hers. Her lips caught his, pulling lightly and parting when he deepened the kiss. She hated him sometimes, but this was right. This was what was meant to be between them, every fiber of her body was screaming with that knowledge.


	27. Human Nature

**Hi hi hi! Only 11 days until I go back to school, but I think you guys got lucky because I'm not entirely sure that this will be finished in 11 chapters…although it might =P**

**Thanks to my reviewers! I love reading what you guys have to say, and I really appreciate you all taking the time to review my story 3**

**The normal disclaimer goes here.**

**And now enjoy your story =P**

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* * *

Putting the Pieces Together**

_Long silver hair floated around Dayne, vines wrapping around and around her waist as firm hands held her upper arms tightly. Golden eyes met her own brilliantly blue eyes, before both flickered shut again, their lips caressing and bruising. Fragrant flowers were blooming around them, her hands moving tentatively up to his face…_

His cheeks were smooth, his red hair bunching beneath her touch as it tangled around her fingers. His hands moved down to her hips, pulling her against him even more firmly, feeling the heat of her body as well as the heat from the fire.

_The silver fox demon bit her lip, pulling away to rub his face against her hair. The vines and flowers all leaned against her possessively, tucking her securely into his grips. She groaned against his neck as his fingers grazed the back of her neck, her shoulder blades, her lower back, her arms…_

"We need to stop before we get carried away." Kurama gasped, breaking from the dream and her kisses although his hands were still wrapped tightly around her. She was his and now they both knew it, he didn't need to follow through with the full demon rites. Not right now, not when she was still so fragile. But his human body was still pulsing for need as much as his demon body always had.

"Good idea." Dayne shook her head, pulling away from him. She stood and brushed by him, hiding her blushing face from the fire's light. "I'm going to get ready for bed." She excused herself, dragging her bag into the tent and opening with the expectation that Sagaku had packed her pajamas. The rabbit demon had indeed packed night clothes – but only two nightgowns. Nightgowns that, while not slutty, were not entirely made for camping. But Dayne tugged her clothes off her throbbing body and pulled the mid-thigh length silk over her body.

"Where are the blankets?" She called out of the tent to Kurama, unable to find them in the dark corners of the small tent.

"Out here. They're in one of my bags." He called back. There was some rustling, and then the fire light went out and his shadow appeared on the other side of the cloth. "Can I come in?" He asked awkwardly, unwilling to walk in on her changing. He couldn't, not if they were both to stay controlled. But when he entered the tent with his own stuff and the blankets, he had to look away from her white and beige nightgown. She took a blanket and wrapped it around herself awkwardly before laying down and turning her head from him. Going to sleep was easier than trying to face what just happened, the connection they just made.

* * *

Dayne couldn't sleep, despite her adamant decision to. Kurama was quiet, as far from her in the small tent as he could get. His breathing was quiet and steady, but everything else was silent. Outside of the tent there were a few bugs, but they were mostly still. There was an odd ringing in Dayne's ear and she wanted to block it out, but it was simply the lack of the normal household noises. It had never been so bad when she went camping with Uncle Riley and his kids. Then again, she had never had hormones jumping up and down levels like crazy.

Kurama listened to Dayne move around restlessly and wondered if maybe it would be better for him to sleep outside. Maybe Hiei would be willing to stay with her. Or Sagaku. But that wouldn't be fair for them, not now that they had a baby to take care of.

The communicator interrupted Kurama's thoughts, and he took the beeping compact outside, happy for the excuse to leave the hot tent.

"Jonathan is asking a lot of questions." Yusuke's face appeared on the tiny screen.

"What have you been telling him?" Kurama asked curiously.

"That you had to take her to a specialized doctor in another city." Yusuke sneered as if it were an entirely ridiculous excuse.

"Is he buying it?" The redhead questioned.

"Yeah, but look, here's the thing. Hiei read his mind. He knows about the demon. It's in his head, however that worked out." Yusuke rushed to tell his demonic friend. "So we'll keep him distracted, and you keep the chick out of trouble."

"Yusuke," Kurama sighed, "if he knows the demon is in his head, then he knew what was wrong with Dayne. That also means he probably doesn't believe that she's with a doctor right now. See if Hiei can figure out what he was trying to accomplish." And then he disconnected the communicator and sat on the floor to think. What could Jonathan be trying to accomplish?

Dayne had said something about Jonathan having kissed her. Of course, she had been practically drunk at the time, so who knew…And then he realized. She had been practically drunk. Why did people go to bars to pick up a date or a night-buddy? Because it meant the people there had lowered inhibitions. Was Jonathan really so desperate to get her? And how did he come in contact with a parasitic demon that was _in his head_? Kurama waited until he could hear Dayne's breath slow down and become deeper, and then when he was sure she was still asleep, he crawled back into the tent.

Her dark hair contrasted sharply against the white pillow she rested on, her black lashes pressed against her soft skin. Slightly parted, her lips were still swollen from his hard kisses. The blanket she had thrown over herself had been twisted and kicked until it only covered one of her legs. He hoped he hadn't hurt her. He actually hoped a lot of things, including that next time he could act like the human he was, and not like the demon that he also was.

* * *

If there was one thing Dayne hated about camping, it was not being able to take a shower in the morning. She woke before the redhead and crept out to sit by the dying embers of the fire. The sun was up, but the leaves from the trees hid most of it. Dayne waited for about ten minutes, trying to stroke the knots out of her hair, before Kurama woke up.

He yawned widely as he stepped into the shaded clearing, stretching his arms out as he looked at the girl, wondering if she was going to revert back to being icy polite. She looked up, her blue eyes wide and cautious as she gave him a tight-lipped smile. He sat next to her, keeping a safe distance between the two of them.

"Good morning." Kurama finally said. Right as Dayne opened her mouth to respond, though, she was taken in a dream.

_Jonathan stood beside the dark-haired demon, both of them looking straight at her. When Jonathan raised his right hand in a wave, so did the demon. Her childhood friend smiled, wide and open. So did the demon, his fangs tinged an odd light blue color. _

_ "Ah, Pip," Jonathan said, eerily echoed by the demon._

_ "Ah, dear," the demon's voice was as orotund as she remembered it._

_ "You're mine, now." They both said, before there was a growling sound and fire erupted everywhere. It was sweltering hot, and when a pale hand latched on to her, she found she couldn't escape. Not even when the familiar feel of vines began tightening against her._

"No." Dayne muttered, shaking her head. Kurama's emerald eyes focused on her intently.

"Dayne, are you okay?" Kurama leaned toward her, still careful not to touch her. Her moments of passion were few and far between, and he didn't want to scare her off during that 'between' stage.

"It is Jonathan." She looked at him with haunted eyes. "I've known him since his mom died. We were only three. Benjamin was hardly a month old." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I don't know if Jonathan is that dark demon or if they're working together, but there's no doubt in my mind that that's what the dream meant."

"What are we going to do about it?" He asked in his silky voice, wondering how he was supposed to comfort her. She wasn't like Sagaku who would just want to hug and cuddle. She was something entirely different.

Dayne took a deep breath, trying to stop her racing mind. There was nothing to clean here, nothing to straighten up. She didn't have classwork to study (speaking of which, how was she expected to take her finals now? They started in one day). It took her a minute to realize he had asked her what they were going to do about it.

"We? You mean you're not just going to insist on protecting me all over again?" She asked in surprise, looking up with a startled face. Kurama smiled sincerely, breaking through his polite mask briefly.

"No, I'm not going to insist on it. What do you want to do about it?" She glanced at his hand as she spoke, but looked away. Making first move seemed…scary. His fingers twisted around hers though, having caught her glance. That much seemed to be human instinct, oddly enough. Her fingers tightened on his as her cheeks turned red and she turned away.

"I think we should go back. As fun as this brief skirmish in the woods has been, we're not going to be able to get anywhere. Plus, our finals start tomorrow. I can't afford to do badly." Dayne pointed out. "These were my last classes I needed. I already applied for graduation. I can't mess this up."

Kurama used a stick to stir up the orange and black pile in the middle of the stones. "I agree."

"You agree?" Dayne twisted to face him.

"Well, the best way to get the demon is to flush him out. Now that we know there's more to his game than getting you drunk without introducing liquor, we know exactly what to watch for. And you're right, our finals are important. Last night was just a precaution." His thumb was rubbing against her hand. It was making them both uncharacteristically agreeable.

"Then let's get ready to go back." She stood, trying to pull her nightgown down to cover more of her legs.

"You go change, I'll call Yusuke and let him know." Kurama let go of her hand and watched her walk back into the tent. She was…reciprocating. It was nice and totally unexpected.


	28. Taking Cues

**Just in case no one else noticed this: I have fifty reviews right now! =D I'm really excited I have that many, haha! So thank you guys, you just made my day ^.^ And thank you, WistfulSin, for letting me bounce ideas off you =P And now onward with these useless announcements in the beginning!**

**I don't own YYH (I bet you never would have guessed if I didn't say it…except not.) And…well, nope, that's all I have to say on the subject.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

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* * *

Disguised as a Sleepover**

"Pip, are you okay?" Jonathan asked worriedly, pulling her to him in a hug as they returned to the house.

"I'm fine. Dr. Matasuki said nothing was wrong." Dayne tried to pull away. Kurama had already hidden all signs of the tent and camping gear. They had even had time to look up specialists in the Tokyo hospital, and flight schedules, before Yusuke arrived with the blonde in tow.

"He didn't do anything untoward, did he?" Jonathan muttered into her ear, jerking his thumb at the redhead. Kurama turned his head to hide his grin, but Yusuke caught it and began to grin as well. He knew what that grin meant, even if it was the first time he'd seen it on Kurama's face.

"No, he didn't." Dayne blushed but Jonathan couldn't see it since he still had her pinned against him with his strong arms.

"Are you sure? Because you've never needed anyone else, Pip. If they've got something on you, just let me know. I'll take care of it. I'll take care of you." Jonathan was still talking softly in her ear, but the others could hear it clearly.

"Jonathan, I'm fine." She pushed against him again, and this time he let her go.

"If you're sure." He eyed the two men angrily. Yusuke eyed him back, but Kurama just looked on with a passively polite look.

The day was awkward. Yusuke didn't even try to hide the fact that he was watching Jonathan like a hawk, even going as far as to follow him into the bathroom while they were at a restaurant for lunch. Kurama kept his interactions with Dayne mostly casual, although he slipped in lingering glances and touches when she least expected it.

"So Dayne," Yusuke said when they were back at the house, "We're all up for a sleep-over tonight if you're up for it. Keiko said she wanted to meet you when you were acting normal." Dayne blushed, but she didn't miss the implication. They wanted to keep a tight eye on both her and Jonathan.

"Kurama and I have finals tomorrow," Dayne started. Yusuke's facial muscles tightened. "But if we keep the activity light, maybe two movies and some popcorn, I don't think it'll be a problem."

"Oh good. Kuwabara will want to come. He likes you." Yusuke said offhandedly. "Yukina and Teisei can stay with Sagaku and them for the night."

"Sounds good. I'll let you do the planning." Dayne smiled at him.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Your finals are important." Jonathan said in a testy voice.

"Don't you want to meet my friends?" Dayne asked innocently. "I know I blotched things up yesterday, but the doctor said he didn't forsee any of the symptoms coming up again. It'll be perfect."

Jonathan stepped close to her again, grabbing her arm in a hard grip. "Dayne, you've never had friends before. You had us, you never needed anyone else. You still don't need anyone else." His glare was as hard as his grip, and he didn't even bother trying to lower his voice. Both Yusuke and Kurama bristled, but before either could say anything, Dayne took care of the matter herself.

"Jonathan, of course I don't need anyone else. But it's nice to have them here. Really, I think you'll like my friends." She kept her eyes innocent, her voice cajoling. Kurama heard the courteous tone itching back into her statement. He wondered if Jonathan would know what it meant.

"Fine." He released her arm and took a step back with a sneer. "But I think there's something going on with them that you haven't noticed yet."

"Who do you think you a –" Yusuke started to snap at the southern boy, but Dayne talked louder to interrupt him.

"Jonathan," she laughed, "You don't even know them yet. Just wait."

* * *

Keiko and Kuwabara arrived together, Keiko with a change of clothes for Yusuke. The only setback was that Yusuke had 'planned' the sleep-over and the movies were definitely targeted towards the male audience. When Keiko nudged Dayne conspiratorially, they both dodged into the kitchen laughing. Being with Keiko was a lot like being with a slightly-more reserved Sagaku, Dayne had discovered. They were giggling over fresh tea, play-fighting over chocolate covered popcorn when Kurama joined them. Kuwabara and Yusuke were arguing with Jonathan over the merits of the most recent car chase in the movie, keeping him busy in the living room.

"I see you guys are having fun." He smiled, sitting beside Dayne. Keiko smiled back at him, but Dayne teasingly switched the popcorn out of his reach.

"Yeah, but it's girls only." She stuck her tongue out, surprised at how light-hearted she was feeling. Both Keiko and Kurama gave her a concerned look. "I uh…don't think it's the demon. But watch me for odd behavior anyways, please." She said a little dryly.

"Will do." Keiko smiled kindly, pushing the popcorn back into Kurama's reach. He snatched it, moving it out of Dayne's reach. The three of them burst into laughter, or chuckles in Kurama's case.

* * *

Keiko and Dayne went to sleep in her room, Keiko in a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor. The men were all out in the living room, awkwardly watching each other. Despite the girls already being asleep, none of them wanted to be the first guy to pass out. Especially since Jonathan didn't trust the others, and they didn't trust him either.

"So…what do you do over in America?" Kuwabara leaned in, peering at Jonathan with an evil eye.

"Work." Jonathan grunted, giving Kuwabara the evil eye right back.

"What kind of work you doin'?" Yusuke leaned in too, trying not to look like Kuwabara.

"Farming. So what is this, the Spanish Inquisition?" Jonathan snapped.

"We're not Spanish, dumbass." Yusuke grunted. Kurama rolled his eyes.

"What do you do for fun?" Kurama asked politely, leaning away from Jonathan unlike his other two friends.

"Hang out with my friends. Just like you do here." Jonathan sneered.

"No need to get testy, we're just trying to get to know you." Kurama soothed. Jonathan laughed loudly, and then shot a guilty look down the hall. He didn't want to disrupt Dayne's sleep, not when she had a final the next day. She had worked too hard to graduate from college early – she had even taken college courses when she was still in high school. He wasn't going to mess that up for her.

"You're trying to get to know me?" Jonathan asked quietly, his tone degrading. "You guys are useless, useless and ineffective. She doesn't need you and you're only dragging her down." His eyes were narrowed, shadowed and eerie.

"Now listen here, punk," Yusuke growled at the same time Kuwabara cracked his knuckles and scowled. Kurama interrupted them before they could say or do whatever it was they were thinking of.

"Jonathan, I think you misunderstand our purpose here." And then he turned out the lights calmly, leaning back as if he was going to sleep. He kept his eyes trained on Jonathan, though, in the quiet darkness. He didn't go to sleep until long after everyone else.

* * *

"That was our last final!" Dayne squealed, tugging on Kurama's arm excitedly. She had been stony and unwilling to reciprocate for the days between the sleepover and her last final. She had even gone so far as to flip Jonathan off when he tried to give her a back massage. It had been worth the constant stress of trying to act nonchalant around him just to see his face when she did it – Dayne and Kurama were both agreed about that.

"I noticed." Kurama chuckled, happy that she wasn't switching between polite and angry with each new statement.

"Do you think Jonathan is still at my house?" She asked gloomily, the smile slipping from her face.

"I don't think he's going to leave until he has what he wants." Kurama told her solemnly. She nodded and shifted her grip on his arm. He was mildly surprised, but didn't pull away from her hold.

"He's going to kill my happiness." Dayne groaned, her hand finally leaving the redhead's arm. He caught her fingers in his before she could pull away, though, happy when they closed on his comfortably. It was basically the first contact she had allowed him since the awkward night of the sleepover. After that, Kuwabara and Yusuke had taken turns being there constantly, and Jonathan wasn't thick enough to not notice the constant surveillance.

"He won't." The redheaded fox said simply, leaning in and nuzzling his face against her hair. It was silky and soft against his face, completely saturated with her scent, something mostly herbal with a vague hint of orange. He breathed out on her hair without thinking about it, scenting her in the demon way.

"Uhm…Kurama?" Dayne questioned, her hand going to his chest to push against him lightly.

"Hm?" A few other students skirted around them, giving them bemused and slightly annoyed looks.

"What are you doing?" Dayne asked, her cheeks turning bright red.

"Something I just realized is probably not what a normal person would do." Kurama commented drily, pulling away from Dayne. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was slightly embarrassed. Sometimes it was hard to distinguish between his human side and his demon side.

"Well…yeah." Dayne admitted. "Come on, let's just get home. I hope this whole thing with Jonathan comes to an end soon." She was still holding on to his hand as she led him to her car, though, and he was smiling at the back of her head. Considering what he had done was odd and not called for it all, she had handled it very well. Granted breathing out in someone's hair after sniffing at them was hardly odd compared to demon mate-marking. He wondered how she would handle that when the time came…but he quickly dragged his thoughts away from that. She was skittish enough as it was.

Had either of them known what her words really meant, they probably would have spent more time thinking about how things would end with Jonathan instead of what their close behavior meant.

* * *

Jonathan was in Dayne's house, blissfully alone for once. Yusuke had to be with his girlfriend over some crisis or another, and Kuwabara had a day job. He was happy for the time alone, although he would have rather had it with Dayne.

"It's never going to work if they won't leave." He muttered, seemingly to himself. He paused for a moment, listening to the reply he got.

"Of course I didn't buy it; I know she didn't go see a doctor. And yeah, I'm about ninety percent sure they all think it was me. They probably think it was roofies or something." Jonathan snorted, kicking half-heartedly at the wall from his position on Dayne's bed. She would be pissed if she caught him there, but he planned to dodge out of her room and act like he had been in the bathroom the second she – and that stupid pretty boy who was always with her, now – turned up.

"You know, pouting doesn't become you." The rich voice came from beside the window. Jonathan cursed and shot up into a sitting position.

"How did you get up here?" He snarled angrily at the dark-haired demon he had been summoning for months now.

"I just followed your scent." The demon sounded bored, shrugging his shoulders and picking at his long nails. Jonathan knew his name, but he had been warned against using it if he wasn't summoning the demon. Using the true name could be very detrimental to his mental health.

"Well, that's creepy." Jonathan said grumpily, leaning back against Dayne's pillow. It was flat in the middle from where she gripped it at night. "By the way, that demon that you sent to me didn't help at all. He might have, but the others interfered." He informed the tall, cultured-looking demon.

"Indeed? I thought you only needed a few minutes to make her yours." The demon sounded idly interested.

"Well, if the others didn't keep popping up that would be true. Pip is too busy stressing out and being all over the place with all of them here, though. Especially since one of them never leaves." Jonathan scowled, digging at his ear awkwardly. "Can you get your little demon out of my head? He never shuts up." He snapped.

"Certainly." His black hair swished slightly as he lifted his arm and snapped his fingers. Jonathan's shoulders relaxed as the demon's voice in his head faded away to nothing. "This deal won't hold out much longer." He warned Jonathan.

"I won't need much longer." Jonathan answered dismissively. Outside, a car door slammed shut, and then another one.

"That's my cue." The demon grinned, his blue lips twisting thinly across his face before he vanished. Jonathan hurried from Dayne's room.


	29. Protect

**Welcome back, darlings! Next chapter and we'll have hit the thirties...that's pretty exciting, I gotta say ;) **

**Anywho, I don't own YYH, but the other lovely ducklings do in fact belong to me. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Faking Plans is Better than Faking Death**

_Jonathan hurried from Dayne's room, trailing a dark sludge that reminded her of swamps behind him. The entire house was tainted with it, the walls leaning out as if to escape the disgusting streaks. Jonathan seemed unaware of it, lifting his hands to hug Dayne in greeting. His fingers glittered with knives as they wrapped around her back._

"I think that dream was almost too literal." Dayne remarked quietly, glancing over at Kurama. They had an unspoken agreement not to get to close while Jonathan was there. Not until they knew what he was going to do.

"What was it about?" Kurama asked, trying to focus. Some scent in the air was drawing away his attention, though. He had only smelt it two or three times before, but he recognized it immediately. "The demon was here." He snarled, his canines seeming to elongate as he twisted to look around. He was moving closer to Dayne, bearing down protectively. She had gasped, though, and taken off to the house.

"Jonathan! Jonathan, are you alright?" She was calling as she threw open the door. Kurama bounded after her, cursing her instinct to go check on her childhood friend – if "friend" could be used to describe the blonde conniver.

"I'm fine," the blonde southerner appeared in the hallway, looking mildly concerned, "what's wrong?"

"N…nothing. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." Dayne smiled tightly, trying to control her fluttering heart. For a second, she had forgotten that Jonathan was probably in league with the demon. For a second she had thought he might have gotten hurt.

"Excuse me," Kurama murmured, putting his hands on Dayne's shoulders as he moved past her. He brushed by Jonathan without a word, headed towards Dayne room. The demon's smell seemed even stronger on this side of the house.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jonathan blocked off Kurama, his hand in front of Dayne's door.

"I left something in there." Kurama's voice was clipped and controlled as his eyes were turning to an almost hazel color, a strange mix of his normal emerald eyes and a light brown. Jonathan began to squint suspiciously.

"Why were you even in there?" He asked in a snotty tone.

"We were studying last night for our last finals." Dayne sounded puzzled, but politely so. "Did you leave a book in there, Kurama?"

"Yes, I think I did." He tried not to growl. Dayne was playing along nicely, and she was actually a wonderful actor, especially now that the stress of finals had disappeared. Jonathan moved out of the way reluctantly, his body stiffening as Kurama passed him and opened the door. Dayne's room reeked of two scents that shouldn't have been in there – the dark demon's, and also Jonathan's. He picked up a book at random off her desk, turning to face the other two. "Found it!" He said cheerily, although his smile didn't reach his eyes. What had Jonathan and the demon been doing in Dayne's room, and together?

Jonathan followed Dayne and Kurama out of her room, trailing so close to Dayne that she could feel his body heat. It was disconcerting and sent an odd shock of panic through her system. She tried not to trip against Kurama.

"Dayne, let's go out tonight to celebrate you being done with school." Jonathan suddenly said, dropping the rude tone he had taken up with Kurama. Dayne blinked and resisted the urge to grab Kurama's hand, even though she knew it would make Jonathan shut up. Actually, he would probably only shut up for a second and then start yelling.

"I'm not done with school; I still have Graduate school to go to." She elected on saying, trying to say it lightly. He was making her nervous. Kurama, with his stiff walk, was making her nervous too. They all ended up in the kitchen, settling around the square, wooden table.

"You're done for this semester, though." Jonathan was sitting on the side perpendicular to her. Kurama was sitting opposite him.

"Thank god." Dayne mumbled, realizing just how long the semester had been. Her father had died, she had discovered demons and learned – to an extent – how to use her dreams, for the first time in ages she had made new friends, she had fallen in serious like, if not love, with the very redhead who made her nervous, she had passed all of her classes, and she had some creeper who was in league with an old family friend. It had been a busy semester, needless to say.

"So let's go out, just me and you." Jonathan leaned towards her, his eyes sincere as he reached for her hand. Dayne jerked back, surprised.

"Actually," Kurama saved her from answering, "We all made plans to go out tonight to celebrate." He paused for a long moment, as if debating whether he should be polite or just as rude as Jonathan usually was. "You're welcome to come, of course." His human training won out, in this case.

"Pip, come on, ditch them. I came all the way over here to see you." Jonathan ignored the redhead, trying to guilt the raven-haired girl into it.

"Jonathan," she began before realizing she had nothing to say, "I – uhm – I don't think ditching everyone is a good idea. We've all been looking forward to this." Her will was bending a little, though. Kurama could hear it in her voice.

"You've changed." Jonathan leaned back, glaring at her coolly. Her eyes widened at what he said, but then relaxed when she thought about it. Yeah, she had changed, and despite Jonathan thinking it was a bad thing, she liked the change.

"If we're done deciding, I'll call Yusuke and make sure the reservations were made." Kurama smiled although he kept his gaze on Dayne. "Don't forget, it's a semi-formal restaurant." He warned her. She blinked in surprise – there hadn't been any plans, but he seemed to be on a roll.

"What time should we all be ready by?" Dayne asked, trying to be casual. She didn't want to give away the fact that it was all spontaneous. Kurama glanced at the clock out of the corner of his eye, judging the time. It was a little past three in the afternoon.

"By seven." He said decisively, standing and leaving the room to gather up the entire gang.

"I don't like him." Jonathan said quietly, catching Dayne's gaze.

"Why not?" She asked, trying to act like she hadn't already gotten that impression. Really, Jonathan telling her he didn't like Kurama after behaving as he did was a little redundant.

"He's hiding things from you." Jonathan leaned forward again, keeping his hands on the table this time. "He's hiding really important things from you." Dayne resisted the urge to snort. Had Jonathan said that to her three months ago, she would have agreed wholeheartedly. However, she hadn't felt as though Kurama was hiding anything from her for months. She had lost the impression the day she first met Sagaku and Hiei for real.

_ Sagaku and Hiei stood shoulder to shoulder. Hiei was impassive, but Sagaku had a feral grin on her face, a shiny, metallic whip woven around her fingers. Watching with crimson eyes, Hiei stepped back and left his mate to advance on a cowering boy, one with dyed-blue hair. He was whimpering, holding a hand up and saying things in an unfamiliar language._

_ "You think you can actually summon up demons?" Sagaku snapped. "You only catch their attention. None of them are going to help you now." And then the whip slashed forward, jerking his hand up and then down. "So what was it you found out when you killed them? Did you get pleasure out of it? They were my friends, my mentors. I'm glad Dayne found you." She was smirking, her eyes looking unusually harsh. The man had given up his whimpering and tried crossing himself instead. A portal was appearing below him._

"Dayne, you're not even listening to me!" Jonathan snapped angrily.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to zone out, you know it just happens!" Dayne wasn't thinking clearly, her mind caught up on the dream. Was the blue-haired man the one that had killed Nenriki and Shoseki, Sagaku's demonic friends who had died long before Dayne even knew demons existed? Why was she dreaming about that?

"I know," Jonathan's voice was softening, "but really, Dayne, your friends are more dangerous than you realize. Don't you remember how he stalked you? It was only five or six months ago. He doesn't have a stable mind." He spoke to her as if she was a child who needed to be soothed and reasoned with.

"You don't really know them." Dayne tried to reason right back, ignoring the fact that he had targeted Kurama despite saying 'friends.'

"Dayne, they're d-"

"Keiko and Botan want to know if you want to get ready with them at Shizuru's." Kurama interrupted, leaning into the kitchen. Dayne paused blankly for a minute, wondering if she knew who Botan and Shizuru were.

"Sure," she stood and headed to her room to get everything she thought she would need. Jonathan glowered at her back before standing and heading to his own room – one of the guest rooms. They weren't leaving for a few hours and he was not going to be stuck with the demon-thief if he didn't have to be.

* * *

Dayne stood between Botan and Keiko. Keiko was expertly applying make-up while Botan was doing something with her hair. Shizuru, a wry and sarcastic girl, was smoking a cigarette while sitting on her couch, and Sagaku was in the other room with Yukina. They were going over last minute details with a human babysitter over what was appropriate and what wasn't with the two demon babies – not that the babysitter knew they were demons. Luckily Nenriki didn't have his daddy's third eye.

"The guys are going to be here in a minute!" Botan squealed, accidentally poking the back of Dayne's head with a pin. Dayne pressed her lips together, trying not to squeak indignantly.

"Well I'm done!" Keiko smiled sweetly, stepping back.

"It looks good, girl." Shizuru said from her vantage point.

"Thanks," both Dayne and Keiko replied at the same time, before looking at each other and laughing.

"I'm done too!" Botan jumped up and down, her pink dress flouncing cutely around her legs.

"Thank you both for your help." Dayne smiled warmly at the two girls.

Kuwabara threw open the door, secretly hoping that he would scare the girls. Instead they all turned and smiled at him. With a disappointed sigh, he stepped to the side to let the others into his sister's apartment, his eyes scanning the room for Yukina.

"You girls all look very nice," Kurama smiled sweetly.

"Yeah, you're looking especially hot tonight," Yusuke grinned at Keiko. She punched him in the arm, but grinned anyways.

Jonathan was leaning against the wall, not even making a move to introduce himself to everyone he didn't know. He narrowed his eyes on Kurama, whose yes were roving up and down Dayne's body. She was wearing a rumpled green skirt that fell down below her knees, and a sleeveless, lighter green shirt. Her hair was curled pleasantly around her face, pinned up in the back, and she was wearing make-up. He wasn't sure he liked the idea that she had gotten dressed-up for the redhead, but it was definitely the impression he got from the way she kept glancing at Kurama from the corner of her eye as she joked with Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"Come on, then, before someone else steals our table!" Sagaku demanded, bounding out of the back room with Yukina in tow. Somehow, on the way out to the parking lot, Jonathan ended up across the group from Dayne. He was forced to get into the third car, not the same one she was riding in. Needless to say, he was pissed.

Dinner was highly amusing, although they almost got kicked out of the upscale restaurant. They all split the bill, and then ended up just walking around the city for lack of anything better to do. Jonathan was seething, although Dayne had tried to pay attention to him too. In her defense, he had been repugnant and rude.

"Let's go to the park." Shizuru suggested. "I want to sit down." And so they all traveled to the park, squeezing out every last minute of the excursion that they could.


	30. Making a Move

**Here's my chapter of the day! And I know I am continuously repeating myself, but muchos gracias everyone who reviewed =] I love reading what y'all have to say and it makes me happy that you guys take the time to tell me what you think =P **

**Anywho, I still (seriously universe, what's up with this?) don't own YYH. I am merely borrowing someone else's characters to mesh with my own characters =]**

**Enjoy!**

**

* * *

Confrontation**

Jonathan managed to get a seat on the bench, beside the woman who smelt like smoke and the quiet girl with greenish hair. Dayne elected to sit on the grass in front of the bench, with everyone else. He was pleased to see that Kurama was not sitting by her – she was between the noisy brunette, Sagaku, and the loud-mouthed greaseball, Yusuke. Neither one posed much for competition.

Dayne was idly picking at the grass next to her hand, listening to the others talk about funny events, although they were careful to avoid anything that screamed "unnatural" in front of Jonathan. But he had been about to tell her that Kurama was a demon in her kitchen, she was sure of it. It made sense that he knew about them, especially with all the dreams she had had about it, but she had also been holding onto hope that he was naïve to what he was doing. Of course, that hope hadn't held out for very long. Kurama was staring at her from where he sat nearest the bench. She could feel his gaze, and because of it the heat wouldn't leave her cheeks. When her fingers went to pluck another blade of grass, she noticed a closed flower to a weed she had been sitting beside begin to open up. Kurama was focused on it. A smile bloomed over her face and she brushed it gently with her fingers. It was a sweet gesture.

The night had been nice, and extraordinarily amusing. Plus, it had gotten her out of being stuck alone with Jonathan. She wasn't sure how to handle him now, and she had no idea how – or if – he was going to turn all evil. Regardless of both her nerves and her amusement, Dayne was exhausted when she finally arrived back at her house with Jonathan and Kurama. Jonathan had spent the car ride back trying to figure out why Kurama stayed at the house too. His questions had gotten him nowhere, and Kurama's polite façade hadn't cracked once.

* * *

"Bon nuit," Dayne muttered sleepily at the two of them, stumbling down the hall to her room. Kurama frowned, wondering if she was demon-drugged again. The second Jonathan slammed his door shut, the redhead slipped into Dayne's room and closed the door. She was laying under her covers, her skirt and shirt discarded carelessly onto the floor. She blinked at Kurama as he turned to face her.

"Are you feeling normal?" He asked, stepping over the clothes and sitting on the bed beside her. He put his hand to her forehead but detected no change in her temperature.

"I'm just tired." She grinned wearily at him. "I get really stressed from trying to act like nothing is wrong with him." Kurama knew she meant Jonathan.

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't being influenced again." Kurama murmured, trying to act like he hadn't been truly worried. It made him feel funny, being so possessive. With the exception of his mom, he hadn't acted like that towards anyone for over fifty years, and then he had been fully demon.

"Mm-mm. I'm fine." She yawned, burying her face into the pillow in her arms so he couldn't see it. He stroked her hair, still in curls. He realized the pins were still in it and plucked them out, one at a time, as his fingers found them. She wasn't sleeping, but she was very quiet. He ran his fingers through her hair again, and then froze with an unexpected sensation. She had raised one of her hands, her own slender fingers playing lightly through his own long hair. "Does it tickle you like it does me?" She asked curiously, peering at him through one blue eye, uncovered by the pillow.

"A little," he admitted, moving his hand to smooth gently down her face. He moved the pillow a little and bent down to kiss her nose, trying hard to be sweet. It was hard when she was in such a submissive position, her neck exposed to him. Her belly would be, too, if the blanket weren't covering it. It became even harder when she tilted her face up at the last second, melding her lips with his. She was drowsy; he could tell by the way she moved her lips lazily, hardly responding to his pace. He pulled back and smiled down gently. Her hand fell from his hair as her eyes flickered shut, but she gripped his wrist.

"Sagaku once said you won't sleep in the same room as a girl if you're not romantically interested." She muttered, her voice muffled and yet understandable.

"I don't want to give the wrong impression, and it's hardly proper." Kurama agreed with what she said, wondering if she was inviting him to stay in the same room. He wondered if he would stay, if she was inviting him.

"Are you romantically interested in me?" Her face was still only half-buried in the pillow she hugged with one arm, and he could see blood flooding her cheeks again.

"…Yes." He finally answered. Interested didn't convey the right meaning, though, in his opinion. Interested was light and not decisive. He was very decided about Dayne.

"Will you stay then?" Dayne asked quietly. She didn't think he would understand the full meaning of her asking that, since he couldn't possibly know how much she didn't like others on her bed…but she wanted him with her. And she was tired enough that she wasn't worried about her embarrassing blush or the fact that she wasn't thinking clearly.

"Do you want me to?" Kurama asked the nearly-asleep girl. He was trying to make a decision over the wisdom of staying in the room with her, especially with a dangerous, jealous man only down the hall.

The whispered "Yes" came a second too late, though, as Kurama considered what Jonathan might do if he found out. He bent and kissed Dayne lightly on the cheek, her eyes already shut, and then quietly left the room. It wasn't a good idea, not yet. Plus, she was so tired she couldn't possibly be thinking straight, and he was very intent on not pushing her too far too quickly. He had over two thousand years of life. Waiting a few days, a few months…it was nothing.

Despite those thoughts, when he climbed into the cold bed in the guest bedroom he had claimed as his own, he regretted his decision. But he wasn't going back on it.

* * *

Dayne woke to someone pulling a strand of her hair, moving it around her face. It tugged a little harsher than necessary against her scalp, and she tried to turn away from it, pulling her pillow tighter against her.

"Stoppit'rama." She muttered angrily. The strand dropped over her face.

"'Rama? Does he come in here a lot then?" Jonathan's voice was tight and angry, as it had been almost the entire time he'd been there.

"Jonathan?" Dayne shot up, her blue eyes opening widely. Jonathan's gaze dipped below her chin, and Dayne looked down too, with a frown, and then a curse. She had forgotten how tired she'd been last night – so tired that she'd just pulled off her shirt and skirt and gone to bed in her undergarments.

"Expecting someone else?" He tore his cloudy gaze off her abdomen as she pulled her pillow hurriedly in front of her.

"I wasn't expecting anyone." She snapped, righteously angry. What made him think he could just waltz into her room when she was sleeping? Not that he'd ever really respected her privacy in the past…

"So the demon wasn't in here last night? Because you know," he made a show of sniffing the air, "it sure smells like it to me."

Dayne looked at Jonathan like he was crazy, a blush forcing itself lightly over her cheeks. The demon had been in her room last night? And how did Jonathan know? He wasn't a demon, and sniffing the air was just odd…

"Oh, wait, let me guess. He decided not to tell you he was a demon. He was just going to woo you and then mark you so you could be his slave for the rest of your life. Yeah, you chose a winner there." Jonathan glared down at the bewildered girl.

"Who are you talking about?" She finally asked. The demon had never tried to woo her. In fact, all he'd ever done was try to terrify her.

"The fox in the other room. So how do you feel about him not telling you he was an animal? Bet you didn't know you were into bestiality." Jonathan's words were twisted and cruel, his mouth forming an angry frown, his eyes wild. He wasn't talking about the dark demon, he was talking about Kurama.

"Jonathan!" Dayne snapped, finally awake enough to react to her anger. "He hasn't kept anything from me! Now get out of my room!" She wondered if her voice was loud enough to wake up Kurama. Not that she was a coward or anything, but she didn't want to deal with this alone.

"So you're turning your back on your _real_ friends purposely?" He was leaning over her, his breath smelling oddly rancid as it washed over her face. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into." He grabbed her shoulders with his hands, jerking her forward sharply. Dayne screamed, clenching her eyes shut as his hands burned into her skin, white hot pain shooting through her arms and chest and neck.

_The only pain now was Jonathan's tight grip on her shoulders, and he wasn't letting go. He looked around jerkily, his eyes focusing on nothing but her._

"_What is this hell dimension?" He growled, jerking her back and forth again. Dayne spat at him, surprised to see blood fly from her mouth. Jonathan didn't even bother wiping it off. His grip was tightening, and with a start, Dayne realized the creaking she was hearing was her bones. He was really trying to hurt her._

"_Hell? You haven't seen anything yet." Her voice was pitted with hate, and when Jonathan looked back at her, he jolted. She wondered what he saw. A wind was beginning to pick the hair up off her shoulders and neck, lifting it eerily behind around her. Colors were whipping around them, moving faster and faster, her vision becoming tunneled. Jonathan was beginning to look scared. The colors were beginning to dodge at him, each time pulling a murky gray color out of him before it fell back in. He screamed, as loudly as she had when he had grabbed her in the real world. Vines were beginning to spring from her feet, climbing up her body quickly as the flying colors became more dart-like, piercing through his body._

"_Oh, dear, you've learned so beautifully." The voice brought terror to her, but she ignored it, her target still her childhood friend in front of her._

"_You thought you would do what to me?" She snarled, his hands tightening fractionally more. There was a crack as one of her collarbones broke. Her vision blacked out and she let out another snarl, this one twisted and odd as she tried not to scream or cry._

"_Well, he wanted to take you as his bride. See, he thought if you could use your powers, dear, you could help him and his buddies conquer power over all demons in the ningenkai." The smooth voice washed over her, cold hands running down her sides from behind her before being chased off by thorny, angrily whipping vines. Jonathan had fallen silent, his body jerking each time the colors passed through him. The gray was staying away from his body for longer and longer…_


	31. Constant Dreaminess

**So I had a nasty scare yesterday – I couldn't get my internet to work. I was gonna get kinda pissy, especially since I'm going back to college in a week and wasn't sure if I could handle not posting all over facebook in the meantime (because, hey, it's what we do.) Anywho, lovely chapter coming right up.**

**Don't own YYH :'(**

**Enjoy!**

**

* * *

Falling 'Asleep'**

Kurama ripped Jonathan from Dayne angrily, a growl erupting from his throat. Jonathan's eyes widened and he gave out a hoarse yell, grabbing onto his throat before looking fearfully at Dayne. She was still caught in the dream, her hair moving oddly in a breeze that wasn't there. Her eyes were closed, her hands clenched in angry fists at her side. And she was growling, an odd, reverberating sound coming quietly from her chest and throat. Kurama whirled on Jonathan, unaware that his eyes were sharpening and transitioning to gold. The rose he ripped from his hair turned into a whip within seconds, and Jonathan scuttled out of the room. Kurama followed, the whip cracking this way and that as his thick, red hair turned silvery. The scents of the house were beginning to sharpen.

"Give me a reason not to kill you," Kurama said mildly, two voices layering oddly.

"There's another demon in there. He'll kill her." Jonathan gasped, struggling to back away as Kurama took another step forward.

"I don't believe you." His voice was falling on the side of being unfamiliar, an odd rippling effect appearing above his head as the image of fox ears slowly started forming.

"She just learned how to control souls! He's taking hers now!" Jonathan's voice was pleading, and when Kurama turned sharply back to Dayne's room, realizing what was being implied, Jonathan ran from the house.

Dayne was still caught in some dream, not moving a single inch. Kurama growled and grabbed onto her arms, avoiding the burn marks and blisters that Jonathan had somehow managed to leave on her shoulders. He wasn't pulled into the dream. He shook her with the hope that it would wake her up. There was no reaction. He pulled her head to his chest, hugging her to him as he spoke her name, calling and growling. She was still caught in the dream.

* * *

Hiei's mind seared with the intensity of the fox's telepathic calls. In the other room, Nenriki was crying loudly. Sagaku was trying to calm him down, her voice low and soothing.

"Hiei, something's wrong with the baby!" She called to him, worry lacing her tone. Hiei was beside her in less than two seconds, his hand passing over the baby's head.

"It's not him, it's the fox." He informed his mate. "Call the detective. Send him to us." He demanded, and then disappeared out the window. Sagaku lifted her baby onto her hip, hurrying to her communicator. What could possibly be happening to Kurama?

* * *

Hiei arrived at the girl's house first, entering warily. He traced the fox and the human to the girl's room, and when he opened the door, Kurama turned snarling, his whip forming in his hand immediately. It shrank back to a rose when he saw it was the little fire demon.

"Fix her." The silver-haired fox demanded, gesturing at the human girl he was hovering protectively over.

"What happened?" Hiei demanded to know as he reached back and untied his bandana. The fox's thoughts were in a turmoil, interrupting his own thoughts.

"He attacked her. Fix her, she won't wake up." Youko Kurama was obviously being pretty one-track-minded at the moment. Hiei closed his eyes and tried to enter her dream.

_

* * *

Dayne had somehow retreated from dark demon, refusing to relax until she had somehow forced him to vanish. She didn't even know how she had finally managed it, except that she had just wanted it so badly and she hadn't given up. But now she was still surrounded by the swirling colors, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't wake up…she couldn'e even retreat to the black emptiness that sometimes filled her dreams. And she was terrified, absolutely alone but for the vines curled at her feet. _

* * *

"Hn. I can't reach her." Hiei finally grunted. The door was opening again, though, and Kuwabara and Yusuke stumbled through.

"Woah, fox-boy, you're all foxy again." Yusuke said, quite stupidly.

"What's the emergency?" Kuwabara added. Kurama growled at their nonchalance.

"Was she attacked again?" Yusuke asked, nodding his chin towards the dreaming girl.

"Yes." The fox answered.

"Well, obviously she okay…except for those burns…why isn't she wearing a shirt?" Yusuke finally realized. Kurama growled again, this time snapping out something that sounded oddly like an aggravated bark. He pushed the girl down into a flat position, covering her body with her blanket.

"Hn. She won't wake up, baka." Hiei said mildly.

"He said he was going to steal her soul." The fox was acting like an over-sized hen, hovering over the girl incessantly.

"Who did?" Kuwabara asked.

"Jonathan. The demon was in her dream, going to suck her soul." Kurama was trying to shake his head, to clear it. There were too many negative thoughts in his mind, and it was clouding every aspect of him. He needed to think clearly.

"Well, call Botan." Yusuke said, beginning to get a little riled up. "She'll be able to tell if she doesn't have a soul!" And with that revelation, he pulled out his annoying communicator and tried to get in touch with Botan or Koenma. Botan, thankfully, responded first and showed up at the house shortly after.

"Her soul is still there." Botan said with a frown, trying to get around Kurama. "Why isn't she waking up?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Kuwabara grunted.

"Let me go talk to Koenma and some of the ogres. Surely a bit of research will help." Botan decided, and took off as quickly as she had arrived.

"So we know she still has her soul," Yusuke tried to say optimistically. The four of them stared dumbly at the girl after that, though, wondering what to do with her.

"Let's get her somewhere else." Kuwabara finally broke the silence, moving to pick the girl up. The canine-like man glared until the oaf backed away.

"Why do we need to move her?" He demanded, quite happy to just protect the girl where she was. He didn't want other people to have their hands all over her. She was going to wake up, she wasn't really in danger…and she still had her soul. That was something, right?

"What if Jonathan comes back with his demon friends? Yeah, we can protect her here, but she needs to be somewhere safer." Yusuke tried to reason with Kurama, despite his overwhelming urge to beat him over the head with some sensibility.

Hiei stepped towards the door, walking with his normal glower on his face. "Hn. Come on fox, bring her with you." And so Kurama scooped the girl up, blanket included, and followed the tiny demon out of the room. Yusuke heaved out a relieved sigh, and turned to face Kuwabara.

"When do you think he'll be back to normal?" He asked his old rival.

"Hopefully soon." Kuwabara grumbled, both of them shuddering at the fox's odd behavior and intensity before leaving the house as well. Yusuke even considered turning out the light, briefly, but upon realizing the light switch was out of reach he closed the door instead.

Dayne was deposited in the living room at Sagaku's apartment. Sagaku was quick to pressure the men into leaving, pressing Nenriki into her mate's arms before he could even protest. Kurama was slowly, slowly calming down, a demonic wind forming around him showing that he was about to transform back into the kind-hearted redhead they'd all come to know and love.

In the living room, Sagaku was trying to force Dayne's prone form into a baggy shirt – preferably one that would cover at least some of her legs, because there was no way her tall form would fit into Sagaku's normal clothes. Even unresponsive, it seemed like Dayne was being pig-headed and purposely unhelpful. Sagaku couldn't help but laugh at the situation, even with worry about why the girl wasn't waking up clouding her mind.

_The whirlwind of colors was beautiful, but unsettling. Dayne finally resigned herself to crouching on the ground, already tired of standing. The colors wouldn't let her pass. She had already tried just moving past them, but had found them to be solid. No matter how unsure of herself she was, though, she couldn't bring herself to be scared. Not since the demon had somehow, inexplicably by her own means, been expelled from her dream._

* * *

Three days later, and it was all Sagaku could do to keep Nenriki from using Dayne as a new playground. The baby was unused to the extra form in the living room, and had come to the conclusion that it was obviously meant for his amusement. Hiei did nothing to stop the young one from pulling the coma-like girl's hair or toes. He just ignored her, as if she was a piece of furniture. Back to being redheaded and human, Kurama hadn't showed up yet. He hadn't been in contact with them, although Botan informed Yusuke that he was in the Spirit World doing as much research as he could. Something was wrong with Dayne, and he was going to find out. Plus, they were all trying to figure out where Jonathan had disappeared off to. So far, there was no sign of him. He had seemingly just disappeared.


	32. Shocking Results pun intended

**Welcome back, my favorite readers ever =P I seriously wanna say thanks for the reviews (I have over sixty now…I was excited when I wrote my last story and I had ten hahaha. I feel like I've reached a new standard ^.^) So yeah, merci beaucoup, muchos gracias, domo arigato, all of the above. **

**After the next chapter there might be a day or two pause between updates, if I can't think of anything else to write by then. I know what I want to happen next, but I'm still trying to connect it somehow, which is a little difficult. So yeah. (btdubs, I don't own YYH :'( )**

**Enjoy!**

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* * *

Waking Up**

_The colors had slowed to a lazy breeze as they circled around the girl. Some of the colors were beginning to separate from the rest, forming long, wispy tendrils around her – mostly in front of her. While most of the colors were recognizable, some were shades and hues she couldn't place. One of the tendrils, bright green in color – the same color as Kurama's eyes, Dayne noted – stretched out towards her. She reached trembling fingers forward, hesitating before she actually touched the tendril. It moved forward the last centimeter, flowing into the tip of her finger before she could think about reacting. The feeling of it was alien, but it tickled pleasantly. Another tendril, this one more a shade of magenta than anything, followed. Then another, and another. It was beginning to hurt, the tickling feeling being replaced by something more similar to an electric shock._

* * *

"When is she going to wake up?" Kuwabara poked Dayne's cheek, but pulled his finger back quickly, nursing it against his chest. "Ow! She shocked me!" He exclaimed angrily. Teisei, with murky purple eyes very similar to Nenriki's, bounced and giggled on her father's knee. Her mother, Yukina, pat Kuwabara soothingly before heading to the girl. They had started coming over daily, so Yukina could check to make sure Dayne was still physically healthy. It seemed, despite her reasonable health, that she was stuck in a form of paralysis.

"Maybe you shouldn't poke her then." Sagaku lectured. Hiei was beside her, a silent shadow as always.

"She's still healthy." Yukina said softly, passing her hands over Dayne's face once again. Dark strands of Dayne's hair followed in the path cut through the air. It had been a little over a week, now, and she was still a silent, sleeping statue.

"Any news from Kurama?" Kuwabara asked. The redhead had been inexplicably busy since he returned to his human form.

"Hn. He's in the Makai now, still researching." Hiei grunted. He had been the last one in contact with their friend.

"Wonder when he'll come back." Kuwabara mused.

"Soon, I'm sure." Sagaku said comfortingly as she plucked Nenriki from Kuwabara's leg. He had been busy trying to pull his cousin down to play.

"Very soon." The fire demon agreed. The fox had been close to finding what he needed to know when Hiei had last visited, the day before.

* * *

True to Hiei's prediction, the next day Kurama was sitting in the living room with Kuwabara, Hiei and Yusuke, as well as the still lifeless Dayne. He was solemn but not as distraught as he had acted before disappearing. The information he had been searching for was hard to find, although he'd had some help from Botan and Koenma.

"This is a step called Chrysalis that sleeping demons go through before they come into power." Kurama was concluding his long speech on what the problem with the human girl was.

"Kurama, she's human. Why is she going through the demon stage?" Yusuke asked, trying not to moan at his friend's blind hope.

"You only had a bit of demon blood, too," Kurama pointed out.

"The detective fights demons. She didn't have any catalyst." Hiei pointed out.

"Her dreams have been evolving since she met us. Maybe exposure to demonic energy woke up her own demonic heritage." Kurama argued.

"It's possible." Kuwabara grunted in agreement. As usual, no one listened to the tall man. Instead they all turned to the dreaming girl. She gave no sign of answering the questions they were all thinking about.

"So what, she might wake up a demon?" Yusuke asked bluntly. He was used to being the hanyou, it would be weird for Dayne to be one too.

"No one has answered that," Kurama shrugged. He reached out and ran his hand down her cheek with the pretense of pushing hair out of her face. "But from what I understand, it's a possibility."

"Hn, I doubt it. She's too weak to be a demon." Hiei said mildly. And that was the end of the conversation.

_

* * *

Dayne hurt all over, but there were no signs of ill effect on her body. The colors had all entered her body, every last one, and she had been unable to stop them. Now she was just stuck in the black wasteland with lots of questions and nobody to answer them. She just knew that something was different. _

Kurama was back in Sagaku's living room, as he had been quite frequently since he returned four days ago. Dayne was still showing no signs of waking up, but he still wanted to check up on her. The overwhelming worry was sickening, in a way. It was much more intense, feeling emotions as a human. It had been the same when he thought his mother was going to die. Not to say that his emotions wouldn't be as intense as a demon, he mused, just that he had been less wont to sharing them. He wondered, if Dayne became a demon, if she would shut down sharing her emotions all together. The few times she had become the fiery girl he wanted had been amazing, but just that – few. If she was going to shut that down altogether…he didn't know what he'd want to do.

Kurama reached out, lacing his fingers against hers.

_Leaves were sprouting from Dayne's hand, appearing out of nowhere. She grinned down, flexing her fingers closed. She knew what those leaves meant._

Kurama started as Dayne's fingers curled against his. He looked hurriedly to her face, but her eyes were still closed, her mouth relaxed and her breathing even. She wasn't awake.

_The leaves were beginning to fall around Dayne, landing against her and on the black ground. Slowly they were beginning to compile, and from the ground a tree was spindling upward, tentatively striving to grow. Faster and faster it began stretching above her, growing thicker and stronger. The leaves were releasing a comforting aroma, one she recognized. _

Dayne was beginning to move a little, unused muscles twitching as they got used to the quicker blood flow. Kurama watched Dayne's face, surprised to see it…change. It was still, quite obviously, Dayne, but her features were becoming sharper, clearer. Her eyes were moving beneath the lids although she was still dreaming.

_Dayne tried to wrench herself awake. It wasn't working, so with a sigh she closed her eyes and focused. She knew what she wanted, and she was going to get it._

Her eyes began fluttering, the dark lashes finally peeling apart to reveal her bright, shocking eyes. Kurama bit back a moan of relief, hesitating against his desire to pull her into a possessive hug. Dayne bit back a moan of pain, her muscles protesting her attempts to move.

"What happened?" She muttered, her voice thick and guttural, clogged with neglect.

"You're awake." The redheaded man ignored her question, reaching forward to pet her hair back out of her face. "We weren't sure if you would wake up."

"Kurama?" Sagaku's voice came from the front door which was jingling as she tried to unlock it. "Who are you talking to?" She finally managed to shove the door open, the keys still in the hole, as she juggled a bag of groceries and Nenriki. "Dayne!" Her dark eyes met the blue eyes of the girl, still laying prone on the couch.

"Sagaku," Dayne murmured. She tried to clear her throat, her fingers tightening on Kurama's hand. She hadn't realized she was actually holding on to him.

"I have to call Yukina." Sagaku said, prioritizing. She set Nenriki down on the floor. He began the painfully slow process of crawling over to the girl he had been using as a jungle gym for the last week or so.

Sagaku was on the phone, talking quickly and quietly into the device. Dayne moaned out loud, not even trying to hold it back this time. She couldn't believe how tired she was, and how sore! She just wanted to sleep, as if she hadn't been sleeping for so many days already.

"How are you feeling?" Kurama leaned over her, his voice worried but soft. Dayne tried to open her eyes to peek at his face, unable to express her relief at seeing him. The dream world had been lonely, and surprisingly harsh.

"Tired." She finally answered. Kurama frowned, his hand fluttering anxiously over her face again. She, fighting with her protesting muscles, reached up and caught his free hand. Her fingers wove between his, leaving both his hands captured in hers. For once she wasn't even tempted to blush, she just closed her eyes again in exhaustion.

"Sleep, then. But if you don't wake up again, I'm going to make you pay." Kurama tried to smile, but his lips were twisted with worry still. What would happen if she was caught in a dream again?

"Kiss me." Dayne demanded, even half-asleep as she was. Kurama's lips finally did turn into a smile and he bent down to brush them gently against her mouth. Her breathing was slowing down, and she was asleep once more.

"Sleeping Beauty, indeed." Sagaku was standing with the phone in her hand, but she had already hung up. "Yukina and Kuwabara are on their way with Teisei." She informed Kurama. He untangled his hands from Dayne's and stood up, stretching.

"Good." He ran his hands through his hair, trying to get rid of the lingering feeling of Dayne.

* * *

"So, what…is she a demon now?" Kuwabara asked, pushing past Yusuke to look down at the stirring girl.

"No, she's still human." Kurama said, puzzled. They all stared down at her as she stirred again, clearly close to waking up.

"Then what was the whole point of the crystalline thing?" Yusuke grunted, pushing Kuwabara back.

"Chrysalis," Kurama corrected, "and I have no clue."

"Nnnn." Dayne made a random noise, stretching her arms up before she opened her eyes. Four pairs of eyes stared back at her. "Oh!" She gasped and jolted upwards, accidentally banging the top of her head against Yusuke's jaw. She groaned and clutched the top of her head. He cursed, loudly, and grabbed his chin.

"Useless human." Hiei glared at her in defense of the hanyou, but his lips also twitched briefly, hiding a grin.

"Dayne, can you tell us what happened while you were dreaming?" Kurama's jade eyes caught hers.

"Can you tell me how long I was dreaming for?" Dayne asked. Her voice was slowly becoming normal again, the rustiness disappearing.

"Why do you have to be difficult?" Kurama glowered.

"Now you're both being difficult." Yusuke snapped. "You were dreaming for like…what, twelve days, maybe? Now answer his question."

"Colors, mostly." Dayne frowned angrily at Yusuke and Kurama alike.

"Run that by me again." Yusuke demanded, obviously disbelieving.

"Colors – there were long strands of color that made Jonathan and the demon go away, and then they attacked me." Dayne answered, even as she tried to think of another word. They hadn't attacked her so much as they had just entered her.

"That makes _no_ sense at all." The hanyou grumbled angrily, swiping his hand irritably through his slicked-back hair.

"Hey guys? I hate to break this up," Sagaku pushed into the group, the ever-present Nenriki garbling and punching at the air happily while she balanced him on her hip, "but I think Dayne probably really wants to take a shower and change her clothes." Dayne looked down, realizing she was wearing some baggy clothes of Sagaku's. Yes, she did want to shower, and change, and brush her teeth…and sleep some more. She couldn't get over how tired she was.


	33. A New Realization

**Ah, we meet again. Gracias muy muchos for da reviews, amigos. And I'm still working on it, but I think the big confrontation is gonna be coming up soon =] I haven't been writing as much as I was earlier this summer because I picked up a new book series…and well…once a nerd, always a nerd. I can't help it =] Also, I know this chapter kind of lacks excitement. I didn't want to rush all the action, because theoretically they're all waiting for Jonathan to make a move...and it's easier to get that feeling when you have to wait too, haha =P  
**

**So here's this chapter made up of lots of characters I don't own and several that I do =]**

**Enjoy!**

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* * *

Conclusion…Almost**

Kuwabara promised to bring everything she could need from her house – everyone had been very firm about the house being off limits to her, though. Until they hunted down Jonathan and eliminated the threat, she had to be very aware of her surroundings and safety. Dayne really didn't like the way that sounded, "eliminating the threat." Jonathan and his family had been there for her since she was a baby. The year her mom sent her there, to get her out of the house until the cancer took its toll for good, Jonathan had been her best friend. He was naturally a sweet boy, wanting to make everyone happy. Maybe he wasn't necessarily motivated to work hard, and he was sometimes jealous over little things, but he had always had a good heart. Until now, and that didn't play out right. No one could change that much, that drastically, and that soon.

The water was running cold by the time Dayne stepped out and turned the faucet off. She wrapped the towel Sagaku had left out around herself, and then leaned against the counter and waited. Until Kuwabara got back with her belongings, she had nothing to change into. On the plus side, the cold water had woken her up completely.

"Dayne?" Kurama's ever-calm voice sounded from the other side of the bathroom door.

"Hm?" Dayne blushed, tugging the towel more firmly around herself. Sure, the door was locked, but one couldn't be too safe.

"I just want to make sure you're okay." She could picture him, leaning on the wall outside the door as he checked on her, keeping his eyes averted to the opposite wall as if he could see through the bathroom door if he faced it.

"I'm fine." Dayne moved closer to the door, so he could hear her better. She conveniently forgot that he was a kitsune, and probably had hearing ten times better than hers anyway.

"I don't believe you." He challenged gently. Dayne let a wry smile slip across her face but held back the tears he wouldn't see anyways. Her mom wouldn't want her to cry. Her mom wanted her to be strong, to live as the constant sturdiness that made everyone's life easier to live. It just hurt, knowing that Jonathan – one of the last connections to her family – wasn't the same. All the same, her throat choked up. But the tears didn't fall, so that was good enough.

"Really, I'm fine." Dayne said, talking lightly so he couldn't hear her voice falter.

There was silence for a minute, and then a heavy sigh. "I know better." Kurama said. Dayne glowered at the door, deciding that she hated him for a minute or two. She wished he would stop making her think about how she felt. She really just wanted to disguise her misery and continue on with life. It was something she was good at. But then she remembered the feel of his hand tightening on hers, the leaves blooming and unfurling around her in her dreams. He was there for her in a way other people couldn't be, and she really couldn't be angry at him.

"We can talk after I'm dressed." She countered him firmly and then hopped up onto the counter to sit while she waited.

"Kuwabara will be here in a few minutes; there's no reason we can't talk now." The fox demon said sensibly.

"Hey, Kurama?" Dayne used the sweetest voice she could manage.

"Yes?" He asked, suspicious of her tone.

"Shut up."

* * *

Kuwabara had returned with two heavy bags, mostly clothes, for Dayne. Sagaku carried them into the bathroom, and Dayne brushed days' worth of scum out of her mouth and relished in feeling clean again. Her clothes were delightfully cozy, too, comforting and familiar. Kurama was still waiting outside the door when she stepped out, clothed, cleaned, and mostly dried.

He tried to be nonchalant as he looked over her, checking for signs of discomfort. She had dark shadows under her eyes, and she was noticeably paler than usual, and her lips were tightened. But her eyes were bright and alert, she was standing straight, and she was moving purposefully. Her features still looked sharper than usual, but he wondered if that was simply a side effect of having been dreaming for so long. His conclusion was that there was something wrong (and he could guess what), but that she was going to keep going as she always did.

Kuwabara and Yusuke had already left by the time Dayne was back in the living room, giving the couch she had lain prone on for so many days a disgusted look. Nenriki was still climbing all over her, despite his slight confusion over the fact that she was now moving and responsive, and she picked up and cuddled with the child happily.

Everyone was silent, finally out of questions about Dayne's longest dream. After all, until they made the next connection, there was no way to know what had happened. Kurama couldn't help but think that there was something slightly different about Dayne, and from the curious glances Sagaku kept directing her way, the Hanshoku saw it too.

Finally, Sagaku broke the silence. "Dayne, I think you've already realized you're going to be staying here with us until things are safe again, but are you okay with that?" She asked, her dark eyes flashing sadly at the thought of her friend having to leave her home. Dayne looked startled as she jumped and glanced guiltily at the shorter girl, obviously shaken out of her thoughts.

"Of course I'm okay with it!" Dayne answered. "I'm really sorry to put you and Hiei out, but I really appreciate the help."

"You're not putting us out," Sagaku smiled warmly.

"Hn." Dayne wasn't sure if that was Hiei's way of disapproving or agreeing. She decided not to dwell on it.

* * *

The next few days passed in a blur. Dayne, having stayed with Sagaku and Nenriki before, had fun taking care of little 'Riki, carrying him around so much that Hiei complained the baby would never learn to walk. Every time Dayne passed into a dream, everyone stopped what they were doing, worried she wouldn't wake up again. But she did, every time, visibly shaken. When Sagaku and Kurama asked why, the best she could say is that the dreams were different…she just didn't understand how.

Kurama hovered around the apartment frequently, but he returned to his mother's home every night, passing on well-wishes back and forth between his mother and Dayne, who his mother had been quite taken with.

Finally, before the first week was up, Dayne had a dream that was somewhat helpful.

"Sagaku!" She blurted, as she became aware again. Sagaku jumped and turned to look at the excited girl.

"What happened?" She asked Dayne, dropping soapy pots into the sink. Dayne pushed the pot of potatoes she had been peeling away from her so she could lean forward and explain to Sagaku what she had just seen.

"I finally get it!" She opened her mouth to continue, but Sagaku was already interrupting her.

"What do you get?" The brown-haired girl was absolutely frantic with burning inquisitiveness.

"How Jonathan was doing it all!" Dayne leapt up from her seat and began pacing around the kitchen. Sagaku followed like a hyper puppy, trying to make Dayne talk faster.

"Well how was he doing it? Tell me!" The rabbit demon demanded.

"I kept having these dreams about Jonathan practicing something almost satanic," Dayne started, turning to face her shorter friend. Her eyes were absolutely blazing with excitement at her new realization. "I thought it was symbolic, telling me that involved with demons, which we already figured out. The dream I just had, though, showed a demon coming up from the symbol that was always on the floor and pressing his hand to Jonathan. Jonathan sort of…flashed a different color, and then the demon disappeared and Jonathan fell, but he was starting to look like the demon that just left. Sagaku, Jonathan learned how to _summon_ demons!" Dayne spoke faster and faster as she explained, although her stance was unmoving.

"He can summon demons? Dayne, he hardly even has the average amount of spirit energy found in humans!" Sagaku protested, but her mind was moving curiously fast as she processed the new information. The demon that had affected Dayne so greatly had been residing in Jonathan's head. How could a demon get there without his consent?

"That's what I keep seeing, though!" Dayne shot back. Nenriki bounced up and down in his seat, excited by their accelerated voices.

"It explains how he made you inebriated…and it probably explains how he managed to just disappear. Hiei can't even find him with his Jagan eye." Sagaku pondered aloud. "But if that's true…well, it's a huge problem. What kind of demons helping him is he going to have when we run into him again?"

"Also: why are they working with him?" Dayne posed another question.

"Yeah, this is going to be a huge problem." Sagaku moaned.

"But at least we've got something new to think about," Dayne pointed out. Sagaku rolled her eyes, but they both knew she was just as happy as Dayne was to have something new to work with.


	34. One Answer

**Ah, I still don't own YYH. I do own several of my own characters, though, and I quite enjoy them, too =] Haha, anywho, I don't have any real announcements to make right now. Thanks to the reviewers, though.**

**Enjoy!**

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* * *

Dinner For Five**

Jonathan, meanwhile, had gone further away than anyone realized. He was in the Makai, hidden by two demons who kept nudging each other excitedly whenever he tried to talk to them. It was infuriating, and disgustingly smelly. Until the demon he had first gone to for help returned, though, he was stuck with what he could get.

* * *

Dayne was beginning to get testy with the constant surveillance. When Kurama's mom invited her over for dinner, she accepted gladly, just because it would be a change of scenery. However, as the time came closer to leave, she began getting nervous. Was this a test, to see if she was worthy of Kurama? Because she didn't even know if Kurama and here were in a relationship, or anything. They'd never discussed it, past exchanged kisses they had shared those two or three times. In the end, she dressed nicely but casually. Shiori greeted her happily, and by the time the table was set and everyone was settling in to eat, Dayne's nerves began to settle.

"So you go to school with Shuichi?" Kurama's step-father asked, appearing almost disinterested. Dayne, correctly reading his body language, replied politely.

"We just graduated, but yes, we went to the same university." And then she fell silent, knowing the old man didn't really care. He had just asked to be polite.

"Are you gonna be a plant person too?" Suuichi blurted out, and then blushed and jerked his gaze down to the rice and vegetables left on his plate. Kurama laughed, his emerald eyes meeting Dayne's briefly, before he turned back to his own food.

"No, I'm going to be a bird person." Dayne smiled at the sweetly-shy boy. He looked to be only eleven or twelve, although she wasn't sure. She wasn't that great at judging age, especially in the pre-teen to early-teen years.

* * *

At the end of the night, Dayne helped Shiori clean off the table and wash the dishes, feeling awkwardly shy with the older lady. It had been a long time since she'd been around a mother-figure. Kurama waited patiently, and when it was time to leave, he held out his arm, winking at her.

Dayne laughed and accepted his arm, wrapping her own around it and resting her hand teasingly on top of his. She waved good-bye to Kurama's family, and with that the two of them were walking through the neighborhood.

"I'm not ready to take you back yet." Kurama smiled at her.

"Oh?" Dayne sputtered, surprised.

"It's true. I want to know what you think of them." He informed the girl. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she composed an answer in her head.

"Suuichi is a little cutie. He's really sweet. You're step-dad…he's okay. He doesn't seem to care about much except for your mom and his son. And your mom is lovely. I can see where you get your manners from." Dayne answered.

"So what do you think of me?" Kurama segued.

"I don't know." Dayne answered immediately. Kurama stopped walking, turning her to face him.

"Why not?" He asked mildly, his eyes scanning her face, trying to read her thoughts.

"Because I believe in first impressions, but either you've changed or I've changed. You were polite to the point of being rude when I was first forced to be around you, and don't think I never realized that you were stalking me. It was creepy. But…well, you being polite doesn't bother me all that much now. And, I mean," Dayne was blushing, and she turned away to avoid his gaze, refusing to finish what she had started to say. He chucked her chin with his knuckles, turning her face to his again.

"And what?" He breathed over her face, his emerald eyes dancing wickedly.

"This! You act like this. You pretend to be polite, but…what you want isn't very polite, is it? It must be a constant struggle." Her cheeks were burning to bright red that he chuckled again, lowering his lips to touch hers.

"No, it isn't very polite. But I can only be human for so long." He reminded her of his demon heritage. Her eyes closed and she pressed her lips against his tentatively. He kissed her gently, as if to prove that he didn't have to be demonic and pushy when he expressed himself fully to her.

"Well this is just lovely." A southern drawl sounded. Dayne jerked away from Kurama, startled, as she whirled around. A growl erupted from Kurama's throat as he grabbed her and pulled her against him, snarling over her head at the blonde man. Jonathan smiled with no warmth. "Oh, relax, fox. I just wanted to see Pip." He tipped his fingers at her in a weird sort of salute. Dayne surprised everyone present, though, with the question that slipped from her lips without thought.

"What are you trading the demons, Jonathan?" She asked, trying to twist to face him fully from Kurama's grip.

"You're my smart girl, Pip. I knew you'd figure it out sooner or later." His grey eyes – a dull color she was unused to seeing in his gaze – were focused on her.

"Answer the question." She demanded, trying to tear herself away from his dead irises, scared by what she saw there.

"My humanity. For each demon that helps me, I help them. Did you know they basically feed on humanity? All that talk about eradicating the human species is just foolish ramble. They need us to balance them out." His grin was becoming feral, demonic. "In return for my humanity, I get much, much more, though." He boasted, and then he was swept away with no traces. Kurama was still growling, and his grip didn't loosen on her until a demon erupted from Jonathan's spot.

The demon lunged at Kurama, who thrust Dayne out of the way. She fell to the cement they had been walking on, catching herself on her hand and pushing herself up in a swift move she had learned from Yusuke. She remembered feeling exhilarated when she mastered it. There was no exhilaration now, just an overwhelming desire to protect Kurama. Kurama obviously needed no protection, a whip having formed in his hands before she had even hit the cement and scrambled back up. The demon was ignoring her, cackling insanely as she circled the fox. Kurama watched her warily, waiting for her to make first move. Dayne wished she had a weapon.

This new demon looked a bit like Jonathan, with her light, short hair, and tall, thin body. However, the ferocity in her face when she leapt forward was scary with its murderous intent. But the eerily beautiful demon was focused on Kurama, blatantly ignoring the human girl who was glaring and trying to decide what the best course of action was.

Kurama dodged the blonde demon two times – and then three times as she launched a series of punch – before he began an attack of his own. The whip lashed out, but the girl dodged nimbly back. She reached out with a clawed hand, odd scales beginning to form up her arm. Kurama and the girl had looked as if they were dancing, moving back and forth so swiftly Dayne was left standing stupidly. Every time she wanted to join in, she realized how slow she was. Maybe that was why Kurama had been so disparaging of her learning to fight. It was a false security; against a demon she was obviously doomed to lose.

_The silver fox-like man danced back and forth with the easy grace becoming of a cat. The girl in front of him looked oddly like a fish, with webs forming between her fingers and her claws becoming duller and duller. Her teeth were viciously sharp, though, and she was trying to use that to her advantage. Dayne focused sharply on the girl, watching the way she moved. There had to be a way to help…colors were forming around her again, and her heartbeat sped up with fearful anticipation. They didn't move against her though, they just hovered suggestively. Dayne frowned, wondering what she was to do with them, but then she got knocked off balance as the fish-girl spun to_ –

"Dayne!" Kurama shouted, obviously worried. She used the same move she had used only minutes before to roll back on her feet before the fish girl could move towards her. The girl's watery blue eyes were widened with fright, and she scuttled back. Kurama's whip lashed across her throat, and she died with her wide eyes caught on Dayne's.

"Dayne, Dayne, answer me, I'm so sorry you had to see that." Kurama was muttering urgently into her ear, his hand stroking against her hair as he pulled her into them. She only partially heard him, her mind stuck on the image of the dying blue eyes, and the flash of fear that had spread through them. By the time she finally focused on the here-and-now, Kurama was frantically pushing hair out of her face, bending so their eyes were level as he shook her, trying to get her attention.

"She…died." Dayne finally murmured, her voice sounding oddly sturdy when she considered how shaky she felt.

"I'm sorry." Kurama did sound remorseful, and his hands were on her shoulders when they tightened. Dayne didn't wait for him to apologize again, but threw her arms around his waist and buried her face between his arm and chest.

"Better her than you, but…I'm sorry too." It was true. She had watched Kurama kill a demon before, but back then it had seemed so surreal. This time it had been painfully real.

"We need to get this cleaned up." Kurama said decisively. He didn't move though, instead burying his face in her hair, breathing in and then out as he realized that she truly was safe. She hadn't been hurt. This time she didn't pull away, making faces about his weird demon habits, either.

Kurama didn't leave Sagaku's apartment that night, like he had been. He wasn't leaving Dayne, not so soon after an appearance from Jonathan and an attack from a demon. At least now they knew what Jonathan was using to gain compliance from demons, even if they didn't know how he was able to summon them.

Sagaku and Hiei retired to Sagaku's bedroom with a sleeping Nenriki, leaving Kurama and Dayne out in the front room to finish discussing their theories. It was after midnight, Sagaku had pointed out with a yawn, and little 'Riki was sure to wake her up before seven in the morning…and Hiei followed her, because as he pointed out, she wasn't likely to let him sleep if she had to be up.

Kurama was about to continue the discussion about possible ways Jonathan had become an acquaintance to demons, but Dayne shook her head no, shutting down the conversation.

"I don't want to think of him like that." She told the redhead, hoping he would understand. "Not right now."

Kurama did understand, his sympathy raising a notch for her. He kept plugging ahead with Sagaku and Hiei, with theories and everything, because to him this was just another mission. He had forgotten it was personal with the girl who was curling up on the couch beside him, her head pressed against his ribs. For a minute, he toyed with the idea of standing up and leaving so she could lay out flat on the couch. However, he wasn't going to leave her, so instead he pulled the blanket over her, and tried shifting her so he could get comfortable, too. They fell asleep like that, innocent even as they clung to each other.

Dayne slept, although not soundly. It was a new sensation, sleeping with someone. Every few hours she would wake up from shallow dreams and realize she was pressed against Kurama, an enticing thought, and then she would have to lull herself to sleep again. Kurama, however, slept throughout the night. They were woken up in the morning by Nenriki, who was tugging on Kurama's leg as he demanded in a garbled language to be up on the couch with them.


	35. Figuring It Out

**I'm going back to school in three days…moving back anyways. Luckily I don't have weekend classes haha. So yeah, the answer was no, I wasn't able to finish this before school. But don't worry, I'm not ditching. I fully intend on updating once a day (as long as I can keep up with the material) because it's almost done =]**

**So I still don't own YYH.**

**And I think you should enjoy =P (Sorry for the slow chapters, it's going to start picking up again soon.)**

**

* * *

Questions Questions Questions **

"You guys can keep sleeping, if you want." Sagaku said, plucking the baby from the ground and taking him with her to the kitchen. Her eyes were bleared with sleep still. Dayne cleared her own eyes, and yawned. Kurama stretched, nudging her with his elbow and shooting a crooked smile her way. With much stretching and yawning, Dayne headed to the kitchen to help Sagaku. She was sure that her hair must look like one of those sixties hair-does, but she was too exhausted to care.

Kurama watched Dayne walk into the kitchen, trying vainly to tug her hair into a semi-respectable semblance. He wondered if she was aware that it actually meant something that he stayed with her throughout the night…granted it wasn't in a bed, but it was still important. At least, it was important to him.

"Hn. Do I need to tell you to 'fix things,' fox?" Hiei asked mockingly. Kurama turned towards the shorter demon and cocked an eyebrow.

"Hiei, I told you that because you were using Sagaku." He pointed out to his friend.

"She was using me." Hiei snorted, but a twisted grin appeared on his face and he looked towards the kitchen where there was a sudden yelp followed by a crash from pots and pans.

"My point is, I'm not using Dayne and she's not using me. What is there to fix?" Kurama stretched again, trying to work out the kinks in his neck. That was the last time he was trying to share a couch with someone. Hiei sat on the window sill, stretching one leg down the length of it.

"She's not a demon." Hiei's red eyes were focused on his friend, clearly wondering if Kurama had ever thought the entire thing out. "She's going to die before you."

"She's not a demon, but it's not like she'll grow old without me. I'm in a human's body, Hiei. I'll age as a human, and then, when the time comes, I can return to the Makai." It sounded callous, put that way. Kurama frowned for a second, wondering if he had thought it out. He knew Dayne was going to die before him, but he also knew that whatever there was between them wasn't going to go away, even if he tried leaving. Plus, he had worked too hard to get her to reciprocate. He wasn't going back on that. "I'll figure it out." He concluded, keeping his face impassive under the shorter demon's scrutiny.

"Hn." Was Hiei's parting response.

* * *

Dayne was in the kitchen with Sagaku and Nenriki, the two girls taking turns trying to tempt the baby to eat the disgusting smelling food. He was finally old enough to be weaned off his mostly-milk diet. At the same time, they were discussing each and every dream Dayne could remember having, although she avoided the ones that didn't have to do with the matter at hand.

"So here's what we know," Sagaku said, heaving a sigh as the baby grabbed the spoon and waved it in the air, "Jonathan is dealing with demons. He's trading his humanity – by the way, how far gone is his humanity, do you think? – and for some odd reason he's out to get you. He has something to do with Nenriki and Shoseki, which by the way, I'm not happy about, and he probably has to do with your dad's death. There is at least one demon who can be considered a main player, the nameless creeper demon, and multiple other demons. We'll call them minions. Am I forgetting anything?" She frowned up at Dayne, wiping smudges of baby food off her arm. Nenriki gurgled happily and reached for the jar, which Sagaku raced to swipe from his hold.

"Well, there's also those purple eyes I saw a few times. I'm not exactly sure what they stand for or who they belong to, but they're there. And also all those dreams where I see everyone fighting. And the colors, what are the colors?" The two girls sighed and looked glumly at the baby who hadn't relinquished his grip on the jar. It was emptied half on him and half on the table.

"You just named everything we had questions about. I named everything we kind of understood." Sagaku groused grumpily.

"It's still important." Dayne shrugged. "And I don't know how much humanity Jonathan has left. He's changed so much since two years ago. We didn't see each other for a while, but when Uncle Riley and Benjamin came with him during the winter he seemed a little cockier than usual." She stifled a yawn, and then turned to get a towel for Sagaku who was glaring at her offspring. Said offspring was grinning and clapping his hands together. At least he wasn't a crier.

"So we can assume that he started really dealing with demons within the last year. That still doesn't answer how." Sagaku started wiping Nenriki down while Dayne stooped to the floor to sop up the rest of the mushy baby food.

"I know it has to do with those rituals. I did some research, and there are a lot of myths saying if you know a demon's real name, you can control them." Dayne answered, dumping the now-filthy towel into the sink.

"He's not controlling them, though, he's trading with them." Sagaku turned, her dark eyes watching Dayne warily. They both just wanted the questions to be solved.

"Maybe he met up with a demon in America. Your friends were in Atlanta – that's in the same state Uncle Riley and them live in. You said they were strong. A demon had to have taken them down." Dayne sat at the table, this time with a bottle of milk. Sagaku's baby accepted it happily. Now both Dayne and Sagaku were glaring playfully at him.

"If Jonathan had to do with their deaths, then he's been involved with demons for well over a year. We're talking at least two years, now." Sagaku pointed out.

"So he's probably not all that human any more. It explains why he burned me so badly that day he attacked." Dayne rubbed her shoulders absently. "Maybe he's turning into a demon."

"Maybe." Sagaku agreed. Both of them knew that didn't answer many questions at all.

* * *

The days were moving slowly – everyone was constantly on high alert. Yusuke and Kuwabara had taken up training Dayne again, and even though she knew it wouldn't make a difference, she trained to have something to do. All they knew was that if Jonathan was running out of his humanity, the final attack was going to have to be soon. Needless to say, it made them all nervous.

"You know what really bothers me about this whole thing?" Yusuke griped one day as Dayne practiced a low kick aimed for his kneecap.

"That Jonathan's a skeevy git and shouldn't have been to pull this whole thing off?" Dayne snapped as she wiped sweat out of her eyes. She'd been having pretty horrific mood swings about the situation. As soon as she started getting angry at Jonathan she'd start feeling guilty again since they'd been friends since childhood.

"Yeah!" Yusuke grunted, dropping to clench his left kneecap.

"I did it? I did it!" Dayne let out a startled yell of happiness, bending to help Yusuke up.

"Ouch. Don't be so happy about it." He sneered.

"Urameshi just got beat by a girl!" Kuwabara gloated from his standpoint, several feet away on the couch.

"Shut it, oaf! It's your turn now!" Yusuke glared at him.

"Actually, I think you're saved from my wrath for now." Dayne sighed, folding her legs beneath her as she plopped down on the floor. "I'm tired."

"You're endurance has improved a lot, though." Kurama nodded at her from his position against the wall. They'd all taken to watching her practice, mostly for lack of better things to do. It was a small apartment.

"Yeah, you've been a lot quicker to pick up on new moves since you finally woke up, too." Sagaku piped in, pushing herself against Kurama as she yawned. He wrapped an arm around her, and Hiei growled from across the room. Everyone ignored this as standard protocol.

"You know," Sagaku interrupted the flow of conversation, "There's got to be a better way of doing this. Maybe we can find Jonathan and stop waiting for him to find us." She grinned cheekily, seeing everyone give her a weird look. She had just jumped tracks pretty drastically, all things considered.

"Hn. I can't see him at all." Hiei pointed out.

"There still has to be another way." Sagaku said stubbornly.

Dayne shot a semi-glare at Kurama for having his arm around the Hanshoku girl – even though she knew it was nothing personal – and closed her eyes. They really wanted to find Jonathan. She felt like she should be able to, having known him for so long. However, she hadn't the slightest clue.

_A red sky was being cut off by clouds and clouds of smoke. Jonathan coughed, hunched over, before straightening to glare at a black demon. The smoke was clearing._

"_How is this supposed to help me?" He snapped at the demon._

"_You can't do it yourself." The demon growled. _

"_Calm down, boys. Jonathan, you leave the planning to me." Dayne recognized the orotund voice, the smooth tone…and then she saw him again, draped in his normal black clothing with his dark, shiny hair, falling in a smooth wave down his back. His deep eyes met hers and he smiled. _

"_Trying to find us, dear?" He asked._

"Anything useful?" Yusuke asked, seeing Dayne's eyes refocus on the living world.

"Nope. Except that there's another demon involved who does something with smoke." Dayne groaned. "He's with demons. That's all I saw. And the demon who's been after me is there. He's in charge."

"We kind of already knew that." Sagaku pointed out.

"I know." Dayne smiled apologetically.

"Maybe we'll figure it out soon." Kurama offered as optimistically as he could. His green eyes were intent and focused, boring into Dayne's.

"Maybe." No one really believed it. These demons and Jonathan had them running around in circles.


	36. Playing Hot and Cold

**Sorry I didn't post yesterday! I am once again left without internet at my house…mooching off my mom's office right now. But anywho, here's this chapter. The big revelation comes up in the next one ;) Annnndddd…not that you guys want to hear this…I'm leaving for school tomorrow. This means I may not be able to post because there are like ten million loopholes one must jump through to get internet at my school. So hopefully the next chapter will be up tomorrow, if not then, hopefully Sunday hahaha.**

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewed or read and enjoyed this story =] **

**I still (hardy har har…who would've guessed?) don't own YYH.**

**Enjoy!**

**

* * *

Finding the Demon**

Kuwabara and Yusuke returned to their women before afternoon turned to night. Hiei and Sagaku retired early with Nenriki once more. Dayne was left standing awkwardly, staring at Kurama. He stared back, standing his ground. If he hadn't been so passionate on other occasions, Dayne would have thought that he didn't have any feelings for her one way or another. He was just staring at her, like they were two almost-strangers trying to find conversation.

"Please excuse me." Dayne muttered, and then slipped by him. She didn't want to try to crack the great mysteries of him and his hidden intents. Not right now when her mind was so busy with Jonathan.

"Dayne," he caught her arm in his calloused hand, "Why are you angry with me this time?" He sounded puzzled. Dayne almost snorted.

"Angry? I'm not angry!" And she wasn't lying. She wasn't angry at all. What had given him that idea?

"Why are you running off, then?" Kurama turned her to face him.

"Because I have enough to figure out right now. Trying to figure you out would just break me." She answered honestly. She didn't know when her mask had cracked, but she felt like it had been ages since she blew off questions with polite phrases.

"What are you trying to figure out?" He asked, tugging her towards the couch. He sat, his hold still on her arm. She didn't settle on the cushions though, instead kneeling on the floor in front of him. His eyes narrowed, although not in anger. Did she ever think about what her body language was saying? Apparently not, because she was looking him straight in the eye…in order to do that from her position she had to have her neck tilted back. He was going to have to explain these things to her sooner or later.

"Why you act like I'm just a person, sometimes, and other times you're tricking me into kissing you." She was still being bluntly honest, her hands on his knees as she explained. "I don't understand why Sagaku told me you transformed into a full demon over Jonathan getting caught in a dream with me, I don't understand why you let me fall asleep on you when you were just going to act like nothing happened, and I really don't understand why you make me tell you everything. You haven't told me anything, yet. Not really."

If Kurama had been any other male in the same position, he wouldn't have listened to what she was saying. As it was, despite his urges to read into her position and tune out her words, he did listen. It just took him a moment or two to fully register what was said.

"Dayne, if I acted like a demon with you, as I have accidentally let slip on several occasions, I would scare you off. I was terrified when you got caught in the dream with Jonathan because I knew he was hurting you. I was angry. I slept with you because I wanted to be close to you." He didn't really have an excuse for not being as open with her as she was with him. It was just his nature.

"You've already acted like a demon around me. It didn't scare me off then, why would it scare me off now?" Dayne pointed out logically.

* * *

"Onna, they won't appreciate you eavesdropping." Hiei pointed out from where he was stretched out on the bed.

"Why would I want to miss out on the most politely-worded, logical, insult-lacking argument ever?" Sagaku questioned her mate, keeping her hear pressed to the door.

"I can think of a few reasons." His warm breath tickled down her throat. She hadn't even heard him get off the bed.

"Well, when you put it that way," she turned into his arms, his warmth enveloping her.

* * *

"It just would." Kurama hoped she would accept this as an answer, knowing he would have no chance in explaining how much more fast-paced thing such as lust were in the Makai. Demons were quick and eager to give as much as they could take.

"Prove it." Dayne offered, her blue eyes boring into his. He swallowed, knowing he couldn't prove it to her, not if he planned on stopping before it went too far. And he was not going to prove it in the middle of Hiei's and Sagaku's living room. It wouldn't be proper at all.

When Kurama said nothing and did nothing aside from narrowing his eyes even further, Dayne took matters into her own hand. Drowning the buzzing feeling in her head that was trying to lock everything down in a reasonable and logical way, she pushed herself up, slipping over his knees. She blushed, knowing she wasn't experienced at all. He had been clearly in charge every time they kissed. But she was going to try, anyways.

"Dayne," Kurama attempted to warn her. It was too late. Her lips crashed against his, her softness turning into force. Her long, slender fingers were tangled in his hair, brushing by the rose as she tightened her grip. For a brief second he had time to wonder if their kisses would always be like this, but then she shifted, and what she shifted against would affect any male, demon or human. And he was both. With a gasp, Kurama pushed her down on the couch, hovering over her, his legs tangled beneath hers still.

"This is dangerous." He told her.

"You're afraid of being a demon." She told him, her cheeks rosy and her eyes hazy. He hated how she always looked so pleasured after their kisses. It was distracting.

"I am not." He hissed.

"Kiss me, then, and stop pretending you're thinking about me when you pull back. You're afraid you'll pass the turning point. You won't." She sounded way too confident, and her hands were tugging him back down to her. His lips were moving against hers again, and he came to the conclusion she had way too much confidence in his ability to control himself. Maybe that's what he got for always acting like he was in control.

Kurama did manage to control himself that night. The two of them fell asleep completely tangled on the floor.

* * *

"Are you making a habit of this, fox?" Hiei's critical voice woke them up the next morning. Dayne burned bright red, burying her face under her hands. Kurama blushed as well but began to sit up, accidentally shoving Dayne a little to the side.

"We're certainly not trying to make a habit of it." Kurama answered, running a hand through his long, tangled locks.

"Hn." Hiei intoned, turning on heel to go sit on the window sill. Kurama turned to say something to Dayne, but she was already sucked up in a waking dream.

_Jonathan pointed at his watch, looking up with his storming eyes to smile in Dayne's face._

"_Now." He grinned. "I hope you're expecting us." Demons were forming out of the nothingness behind him. Lots and lots of demons._

"Now!" Dayne gasped the second she was aware of the real world around her.

"What's wrong?" Kurama's hand reached for her face, cupping her cheek.

"Lots of demons. Jonathan has a ton of them." Dayne blinked rapidly, trying to clear the image from her head. Hiei grunted in surprise from the window.

"When are they going to get here?" Kurama asked, his thumb rubbing almost roughly against her cheek.

"I don't know when they're going to get here, but they're leaving wherever they are RIGHT now." Dayne stressed, standing up and rushing to the bathroom to change into clean clothes. She didn't feel like she'd be brave, facing demons in pink and blue striped pajamas.

When Dayne exited the bathroom, brushing her hair haphazardly and tying it up in a quick knot, Kurama, Sagaku, and Hiei were arguing in the living room. Nenriki was, as per usual, bouncing on the floor and giggling happy.

"What's happening?" Dayne asked. Her voice wasn't trembling, although her hands were. All things considered, she was surprisingly calm. Whatever was going to happen was getting ready to happen now. At least she could stop worrying.

"You need to stay here with Nenriki." Kurama turned to her, his green eyes as hard as the gem they resembled.

"Excuse me?" Dayne snapped, her mouth hardening in a straight line. She wasn't going to frown, but it took a lot of self-restraint.

"They want you to stay here because they think you'll get in the way." Sagaku snapped, angry at her mate and foxy friend. Dayne's eyes were narrowing to hard angles.

"It's my fight." She growled at Kurama. She knew who really wanted her out of the way. Hiei couldn't care less, either way, he was just agreeing with Kurama because the fox wanted him to.

"Dayne," Kurama tried not to plead, to just speak calmly, "you know you won't be able to fight against demons."

"It doesn't matter. It's my fight." The girl said stubbornly. "You're not leaving me here." Her voice was reaching higher pitches. Kurama winced, not sure if she was getting angry or upset. Either way, he didn't want her to react like this. He didn't want her at the fight, though, not where she was going to get hurt and probably die. A human wouldn't last in that situation, not without powers like Kuwabara's.

Dayne turned away from Kurama, knowing she wouldn't convince him of her right to fight. Instead, she walked to the door. She opened it and made it halfway down the hallway before Kurama was in front of her, growling deep in his throat.

"You're not going to fight." He commanded.

Dayne stepped around him, keeping her face as blank as she could. She didn't know where the fight was going to be, but she had a pretty good feeling she had an idea where it would take place. Her house wouldn't hold up with so many demons in it, of that she was sure. Maybe it was time for her to move on anyways. But no matter what, she was going to be at the fight. It wouldn't have affected her so greatly if she wasn't supposed to affect it at all.

"Dayne, listen to me!" Kurama demanded, his voice beginning to change. She ignored him. It hurt, but it was right. She had to be at the fight, and he was going to try to hold her back. He should just be protecting her, fighting alongside her, not holding her back.

Kurama watched Dayne slip out the stairwell, and with an angry snarl he turned back to face Sagaku and Hiei.

"Yusuke and Kuwabara will be here in a few minutes. We'll leave then." Sagaku told him, her dark eyes searching his changing eyes. When he was getting along with Dayne, the two of them were so perfect. Now, she had to wonder if the fox even knew what he was getting into. Maybe Dayne hadn't seen where the fight was going to be, but they all knew where Jonathan was headed. He wasn't from Japan…where else did he know but her house?


	37. Beginning the Battle

**I know, I know, I'm posting more than one chapter today! Wanna know why? Cuz I just finished writing it =D But I'm not putting it all in one chapter, cuz I still like breaking things up hahaha. But for real, I'm posting the rest of it today! This is me being super excited =D**

**So I want to say thank you to WistfulSin and Jennibearrr and Angel of Randomosity and everybody else that I don't have time to write down names for (sorry, my mom is pressuring me to hurry up so we can leave the office) but thank you so much everyone who read my story =] It makes me feel all special 3**

**Enjoy!**

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* * *

A Twist in Expectations**

Dayne's house was quiet. For a minute, she toyed with the idea of turning on the lights, but decided that would be a dead giveaway. Jonathan didn't need to know she was there. And now that she was there, she had to wonder: How did she think she was going to hold back a horde of demons? Especially when the dark, creepy demon was going to be involved. He wanted her soul, she was sure that hadn't changed. But she had expelled him from her dream once, and she was sure she could do it again. She was going to have to do it again, except in a more deadly way. If she could handle that.

She found herself kneeling by her dad's bed, staring at it moodily. Twelve years ago he had shared the bed with her mother. Her mother had been laying in bed, sick for the first time in Dayne's memory. With a strict voice she had called Dayne to her side, reaching out to grasp the young girl's hand. Dayne was going to have to stay with her Uncle, her mom explained, until she was better. When was she getting better? When God gave in and accepted her to heaven. Dayne had never believed in God. Not the way her mom had. When the first tears started, her mom snapped angrily at her. That was the reason she was being sent away, because her mom didn't want to deal with useless emotions. And then her dad had died in the same room, the same bed.

A sound from the front door chased the ghosts away, bringing Dayne back to what she was doing – at the moment, hiding. Just because she knew she had to be at the fight didn't mean she was dumb enough to go confront the demons. She was just a human, after all.

"Dayne?" It was a soft, innocent voice. She knew that voice. "Dayne, dad said to come find you." It wasn't really Benjamin. He wouldn't call through the house. He would just go find her.

"Come on out, Pip." The voice changed into one that had been haunting her dreams. "I've waited long enough for you." His voice sounded hollow now. She wondered how many more deals he could make before he ran out of his last strand of humanity. "I know you're here." She wondered where the other demons were. She could only hear Jonathan.

"Dayne, you're being rude." The tone was admonishing, but still slightly off. Her mother never told her she was being rude. She just gave her that look…the one that told her she was doing something wrong. Sucking in a deep breath, Dayne closed her eyes. She was going to fight the way she was meant to.

_It was like the world had been sucked in and everything was surrounding her closely. Almost too closely. She could feel Jonathan, moving around the house. He was headed towards her room, sure that's where she would be. She turned, feeling her body move in the real world too. It was effortless, now. He would find her, soon, and she would be ready. Already, she was catching glimpse of the long ribbons of color all around her. The feel of them was tangible. She was ready._

"_Ah, dear, you are ready." The demon agreed with her, his long, dark hair swinging as he appeared in front of her. Dayne blinked. She was supposed to take care of Jonathan. She wasn't equipped to take care of the demon._

* * *

"They need to hurry up," Kurama grumbled, in regards to Yusuke and Kuwabara. Dayne had been gone for who-knew-how-long…(exactly seventeen minutes and forty-two seconds, not that he meant to keep track). Sooner or later the demons or Jonathan were going to show up, and she was going to get hurt.

"We're here!" Yusuke gasped, throwing the door open. Yukina was right behind Kuwabara, her baby wrapped tight in her arms.

"Nenriki is right here." Sagaku told the pretty youkai, putting the baby down on the floor, and hurried to the door. Kurama and Hiei were already out it.

They moved quickly, dividing as they dove into Kurama's and Kuwabara's cars. Even disobeying traffic laws, getting to the house took too long. Surprisingly, though, Kurama was still in his human form. Everyone had thought he'd morph before this, but he seemed intent on staying calm. The wheels squealed to a stop at the curb. Dayne's house looked undisturbed.

"You don't think she had another dream and went somewhere else, do you?" Sagaku asked in a worried tone. Her mate didn't answer, narrowing his red eyes at the building as if it had offended him personally.

"Only one way to find out." Yusuke said, stepping out of Kuwabara's car. "C'mon guys."

There didn't seem to be any noise coming from the house as they stepped up to the front door. Hiei and his mate split off and headed for the back door. Kurama waited a moment before opening the front door, entering the house at roughly the same time as Hiei and Sagaku.

"Dayne is here." Kurama muttered quietly to Yusuke and Kuwabara as they crept forward. "So is Jonathan."

"Guess we better go find them, then." Yusuke muttered. Kuwabara nodded in agreement, giving them both a little shove to get them moving. Hiei and Sagaku wandered in silently from the kitchen, both tense and alert.

_

* * *

The demon moved around her father's bed, moving straight for Dayne. His dark eyes were crinkled, whether from excitement or amusement Dayne didn't know. _

"_I've been waiting so long for your soul, my dear." His bluish lips tightened as they lifted up in a smile. _

"_You couldn't take it the first time," Dayne said seriously, "so what makes you think you can have it this time?" As if to prove a point, the dream of Dayne's father dying appeared around them. The demon paused, watching himself for a second, and then turned his eyes back to the girl. Her cheeks were pink. He'd stalked her long enough to realize that entailed fear. _

"_Merely a fluke, my dear. Now come, give me what I want and I'll give Jonathan what he wants." He beckoned, flashing a white, manicured nail. Dayne snorted, knowing it was unbecoming and childish. Her mother wasn't there to chide her, not now. The demon's eyes narrowed. _

* * *

"I'm sorry, I can't allow you to interrupt." Jonathan sneered at Dayne's friends. He blocked the entrance to the door.

Thinking to end it quickly, Hiei flashed forward with his sword, sweeping a cut at Jonathan's neck – his katana lodged into the doorframe and he found himself ducking, dodging the blow of a blunt weapon. There was another demon now, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere.

"How can he move that fast?" Kuwabara asked, almost dumbly, staring at Jonathan. The blonde merely smiled at him, and moved again. He was faster than Hiei, and the only thing deterring his blow was Sagaku's built in defense: her stones. There was a flash of yellow-ish light around her, and Jonathan was knocked back a few steps. He glared at the short brunette who glared right back.

"So tell me, Jonathan," she stalked forward, shifting her weight lower in preparation, "What did you have to do with Ned and Sam?" His eyes widened minutely.

"Who? You're crazy, lady." He sneered, stepping to the side to avoid the clashing weapons of Hiei and his opponent. Yusuke, hoping to catch Jonathan unaware, aimed his finger. "Ah, ah, ah. Let's keep you all occupied, shall we?" Jonathan smiled at the dark-haired boy. Kuwabara charged. It was too late.


	38. Fighting to Live

**Hahaha, I know these chapters are kinda short, but the last one is gonna be a tad bit longer. I still don't own YYH, by the way =]**

**Chapter 38! Yaaayyyyy!**

**

* * *

A Human(oid) Portal**

"Fuck!" Snapped Yusuke, trying hard to push backwards. Demons were _walking_ out of Jonathan! And the hallway was not a very conductive place to fight. There was no room to really maneuver. Kurama and Kuwabara were forced to follow, being pushed back by the heavy blows of a demon bigger than most wrestlers. Kurama's whip was out and flashing, lights blinding him as Kuwabara's giant sword formed and Yusuke shot energy ball after energy ball at the large demon. Two smaller demons were flanking him, cackling meanly. They were identical, flickering in place.

Sagaku was bearing down on Jonathan, the metal coil around her wrist melting and reforming in her hand. Jonathan fell against the wall, using it to bear his weight as he kicked out at her. She dodged the kick, thrusting her hand hard against his throat.

"Maybe you'll know who I'm talking about if I call them Shoseki and Nenriki. What did you do to them?" She growled.

"Oh." Jonathan chuckled, sounding hoarse as he tried to talk through a constricted throat. "You see, I have a group back home in Georgia." He kicked again, this time catching Sagaku hard in the thigh. She thudded painfully against the wall right behind her. The hallway truly wasn't a good place to fight, but it was too late to move now. "They were researching and practicing. They knew demons were out there…they just couldn't fight them." Sagaku dodged his punch, and then thrust the palm of her hand up. His nose cracked and he groaned, falling sideways before straightening and grabbing a handful of her hair. He let go with a cry of agony as his hand came in contact with her opal chopstick.

"So you just rode in on someone else's glory?" The short girl leapt at the boy, dropping him to the ground.

"Oh no, they needed me." He smashed the side of her face. "I'm the only one that can summon demons." She had clearly witnessed that, as now her mate and friends were all tied up in skirmishes. The bangs coming from the living room definitely didn't sound good.

_

* * *

The demon tried to move to Dayne, but the colored strands were forming a thick, translucent wall between them. He growled, frustrated, and waved his hand dismissively at the lights. They only formed more thickly._

"_I see you have your own collection of souls, dear." He sneered at Dayne. Her eyes widened, even as she tried to control the reaction. Souls? Oh god, she hoped not. The demon's sneer transformed into a grin as he saw the look on her face, though. "I see you didn't realize that's what these were. So how do you feel, knowing that hundreds of souls are unable to continue on to their resting place because of you?" _

"_They're not souls." Dayne denied, even as she wondered if they could be. Two were swirling tightly around her – the bright green one that was the color of Kurama's eyes, and the magenta one that had caught her eye the first time. Up and down her arm they traveled, barely grazing her skin. She could feel static, pulling her arm hairs up and down stiffly, growing stronger and stronger._

"_Dear, if you truly believed that, your face wouldn't be turning so red. Let me take your soul and you won't have to worry about embarrassment or other useless emotions anymore." He beckoned invitingly, his voice so smooth and lovely that Dayne could feel wheels in her head turning at his offer. It was a sick sort of magic, his voice. _

"_Is that how you convinced Jonathan?" The girl snapped angrily, stepping forward. Her wall moved flexibly, the colors moving like birds to swirl crazily above her head. The green and the magenta tendrils remained close at hand. _

"_He called me forth." The demon's voice was sly, pleasant. Dayne's back was already set. She knew a mask when she heard it. And his smile wasn't fooling her either. "And he can keep his soul without humanity. He can't have humanity without his soul."_

* * *

Kurama and Yusuke had somehow ended up back to back, facing off with the twin demons. Kuwabara and the hulking demon were pounding each other heavily, moving slowly towards the kitchen. "Fuck, these little demons are fast!" Yusuke exclaimed, panting slightly. The demons switched places frequently, making it even harder to get a grasp on them. Kurama's rose whip flashed out once more, another seed in his hand, ready to make contact. He just had to stop one of them demons for it to work. At least he knew Jonathan wasn't in the room with Dayne, as long as Sagaku was holding up.

* * *

"What does that have to do with my friends?" Sagaku grunted, dropping into a crouch to avoid Jonathan's fists. They connected heavily with the wall. She dove at his knees, knocking him off balance swiftly as she stood back up.

"We heard whispers that they were in contact with an elusive Hanshoku." Jonathan rolled into the opposite wall, using it to force himself back onto his feet. He grinned at the girl. "This is the first real conversation we've ever had. Isn't it fun?" He punched unexpectedly. The metal in the girl's hand engulfed his fist, crushing down.

"Tons. Why did you need a Hanshoku?" The metal was inching further up his arm. His face was skewed in pain now.

"To tunnel through the barriers of the worlds. Only Hanshoku can tap into stones in all three worlds to do it." He was hissing in agony now, attempting to beat Sagaku with his spare hand. It was burning her, but most of the blows glanced off to the side, due to her stones and the shifting metal.

"Did Ned and Sam tell you how to do that?" Sagaku asked, her face dark and her lip twisted into a snarl that she didn't sound.

"No, but they accidentally let slip that there was a skilled Hanshoku here in Japan." His shoulder crunched beneath the metal. He screamed.

* * *

Hiei's katana thrust one last time at the demon, at the base of the throat. The demon dropped. He turned out of the bedroom they had fallen into during the fight, and came face to face with his mate crushing the human the other girl kept saying was her friend. He couldn't sense any other demons around the other girl, so he stayed to keep an eye on his mate. He wasn't going to step in unless the human showed signs of being able to hurt her.

_

* * *

With a cry, Dayne thrust the long tendrils of colors that surrounded her at the demon. He lifted a hand, and other colors came flying up in front of him, twisted and warped. There was a keen crying noise, almost strong enough to make Dayne cover her ears. The demon flew at her, the twisted, screaming strands of murky color following him. The two tendrils that stayed at her hands wrapped around her fists, and when she went to punch the demon in the face, something similar to electricity flowed through her. She missed his face, but his shoulder sizzled when her fist made contact. He reached out to grab her. One of the brighter tendrils, one of hers, slipped into his hand. He withdrew with an agonized jolt. Dayne danced back, her long ribbons of color once again following her back._

"_They're not stolen souls." She grinned eerily at him. She could feel power shifting inside of her – power and knowledge. "They fight willingly to help me." It was true; the colors were in front of her, shielding her from the twisted jabs of his own murky souls. Even trying not to think about it, Dayne couldn't help but wonder if one was her dad._

"_You have less power when you let the souls use you." The demon sneered, his arms sweeping up grandly. The decaying souls flew up in the air, forming something similar to a tidal wave. _

"_You think you absorb their power?" Dayne laughed, watching the tidal wave of souls form even larger. "You only absorb their hatred." She lifted her own hands, pointing her fingers upward. The colored souls swept up her body, caressing past her skin as the stretched to cut off the wall of souls. _

"_Then I'll absorb yours as well, and with it those souls." He dove at her once more, his voice no longer so smooth and charismatic. It was coarse and angry, and even as she punched and bit at him, kicking hard at his knees, his demonic strength was forcing her fast to her knees. _

_He couldn't steal a soul unsurrendered. She would not scream. The strand of green was flying back to her, spinning past loose strands of murky souls that had been separated from the others in the wave. _

* * *

With a growl, Kurama finally planted the seed on the quick demons. Both Yusuke and Kurama were forced to jump back when a tree erupted over the two demons, easily bending them under its steadily growing roots.

"What," Yusuke panted, "is that?" He aimed his finger at the struggling twins, building up his energy.

"It's just an oak tree. They're very heavy-weight, and I didn't dare use demonic plants in the ningenkai." Kurama answered, panting as well. Yusuke fired. The tree and its two occupants exploded. "I've got to get to Dayne." Kurama bolted to the hallway. He knew which room she was in, and after shoving past Sagaku and Jonathan, the latter who was getting interrogated even while he was slowly dying, and dodged into the room of Dayne's father.

Dayne wasn't moving from where she sat crumpled to the floor. She was clearly dreaming, her eyes half-closed with concentration on the world few had access to. Kurama took wary steps up to her, watching for whatever had caused her to collapse. He couldn't see or smell or even hear anything in the room but her. He knelt down cautiously, wondering if he should remain standing in order to defend the fragile girl better, but he couldn't see anything to defend her against. He reached out a shaking hand, touching her cheek.


	39. Together and the End

**And the final chapter! But you shouldn't write me off yet, because I will hopefully begin adding one-shots into "Containing the Cold" to join in with the Sagaku/Hiei/Family oneshots. So you should totally keep your eye out on that =]**

**Without further ado, enjoy the last real chapter!**

**

* * *

Coming to Terms With a Demon**

_The demon stood over Dayne, exerting force she had never felt before. Each time he breathed in, she felt a tug inside her, causing her heart to flutter dangerously each time. She glared at him, unable to move her trembling, weak limbs. Whatever he was doing to try to steal her soul wasn't working the way he wanted it to. The best he could do is keep her down. She wanted to tell him that maybe he would be better off killing her, because obviously this tactic wasn't working, but she knew the instant she opened her mouth the soul inside her would leave. She could only hope that the colored souls protecting her could return to her soon. She was stronger with them near her._

"_What are you doing?" The dark demon hissed, his black eyes widening as his eyebrows drew down angrily. Dayne didn't say anything, angling her head to the side. She knew that touch. She could feel him, and the leaves unfurling from her hair and tumbling down to her side were a dead-give-away. Kurama was with her. "Stop it!" The demon hissed louder. The murky souls were losing ground now, slipping towards the ground, falling into twisted piles near the demon. The colors were returning to Dayne now, sliding against her body like eels. She grinned, looking up at the demon._

"_Make me." She stood, feeling Kurama rise behind her as he slowly melted into the dream. She heard the startled noise he made, seeing her opponent, and she saw long strands of silver hair floating around him. But mostly, she saw the look of despair on the demon's face. The tug on her soul was stronger now, her heart pounding unmercifully against her ribs. The air was cold._

_The demon fell back, trying to pull away as Dayne dodged forward more quickly than any human was capable of moving. Her hands flexed against his throat. She heard the parting of the air as Kurama's whip twisted past her, flying to tighten the demon's arms to his side. Dayne ignored the fox demon behind her, knowing he could handle anything. She raised one of her hands to the dark demon's cheek, pressing her fingers in as the colors around her vibrated eagerly._

_Kurama watched the murky piles twisted strands as they were being pulled into the demon. He growled in a feral way, jerking his whip threateningly. From the shocked eyes of the demon, he wasn't controlling them though. His body jolted each time the strands slid in to him, covering his face in their hurry. Odd sparks were flying from the fingers Dayne had pressed against the demon's face, drawing colors through the demon's cheek. He could feel the static between them, her hair floating eerily in the air and sticking to his clothes and skin._

"_You can't make me." Dayne told the demon forcibly. Her eyes were brighter blue than ever, her pupils enlarged to hide most of the color like a stalking cat's. "You can't make me stop. You can't steal my soul." The murky strands were disappearing altogether from the floor, and the electricity surrounding the girl dangerously was increasing quickly. "We were meant to control dreams, not souls." The last strand was flying up to the demon's mouth…_

* * *

"Yes, we killed them!" Jonathan squeaked, his throat contracting. Sagaku touched a glowing ring to him. He squeaked again.

"You've already told me that. You've even told me why." Her eyes were hard as she looked down at the man. "I didn't ask you to repeat yourself. I asked you why you tried helping a demon steal Dayne's soul." Her anger was greater than it had ever been before. This pitiful puke who traded away his humanity down to one last little thread was the reason two people who understood her more than anyone else had died. Her son's namesake was going to be avenged, finally.

"Because!" Jonathan gasped out. "You've seen her, walking around like she's better than everyone else. Wouldn't give me the time of the day and laughed at my attempts to court her. She deserves it!" He yelped, squirming uncomfortably. The metal was wrapped all the way around his chest now, constricting tighter than a snake.

"She would've given you the time, politely too. She never laughed at you. She defended you until you finally proved you weren't worth it." Sagaku glared down at Jonathan. "But she's not here to defend you right now." The ring, black surrounded by small white stones, flashed. Jonathan fell.

_

* * *

Kurama hovered, his ears twitching this way and that. The demon was dead, he was sure. One last strand of disgusting black was wavering above his body. Dayne didn't touch it, instead putting her hands out, palm facing forward. The darkened strands that had swept so quickly through the demon were flying out of her hands, the oily colors straining and falling from brighter shades beneath. The static around Dayne was palpable, raising Kurama's hair as well now. The last of the souls was leaving her palm. He caught her as she collapsed._

* * *

"Are they okay?" It was Kuwabara's voice, and when Dayne finally willed herself to open her eyes she saw him hovering above her. He was heavily bruised, and had a few dents and scratches on his upper body, but he seemed otherwise okay.

"Did Jonathan get his soul back?" She asked hoarsely, angry at the heavy feeling in her throat. There was no way she was going to cry now. She had proven once and for all that she could handle her own safety.

"No. He never did." Sagaku knelt down, a safe distance from the girl.

Dayne felt hands – large hands – tighten around her waist. She wiggled, trying to move. Kurama's demon form was wondrous, she realized as she finally got a glimpse of him. And his hands were even more calloused in this form than when he was still the red-headed human.

"He wanted you to die." The silver-haired fox demon said softly to Dayne, his voice unfamiliar to her ears. He sounded different in the dreams. She reached up, touching the hard panes of his face. He let her, not saying anything. His demon form was much harsher than Kurama-the-human, almost to the point of being scary. But Dayne had felt the vines wrap possessively around her, the caressing, protective movements commonplace in her dreams. And she had kissed Kurama and felt the demon inside. She wasn't scared.

"Oh don't tell me you guys are going to make out. That's not fair for the rest of us." Yusuke groused. "And we didn't even get to fight a lot of demons like you promised." He glared at Dayne, who wasn't even looking at him.

"Jonathan was the portal." She said. Sagaku made a noise to confirm it. "If you guys kept him busy then the demons couldn't break through."

"Yeah, Urameshi. What, did you want the world to be put in danger again?" Kuwabara grunted.

"The house is going to collapse, bakas." Hiei noted from where he stood behind his mate. Dayne groaned, pushing to her feet. She still hadn't taken her eyes off Youko Kurama, awed at the difference between his two different sides. He watched her as well, his golden eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to evaluate her reactions. She gave nothing away.

Sagaku carefully lead the others through the house, headed for the front door. The fighting had caused a lot of damage, and it did seem as though the sturdy frame was no longer so sturdy.

"We have to get rid of the evidence," she refrained from kicking the dead body of Jonathan, knowing it would hurt Dayne. "Even if the house collapses, people are going to notice the dead bodies aren't human."

"Hn. That's why you have me." Hiei grunted, waiting until the last of them had walked out. He made a punching motion with his wrapped arm, and watched as flames began flickering up on the inside of the house. "There. Let's go." He turned, his red eyes landing on the fox and the girl. Dayne was watching the flames with something odd in her eyes. Kurama was watching Dayne with something even odder in his eyes.

"Let's go." Dayne agreed softly, tears forming in her eyes even though they never fell. She turned to the others. "You guys have done so much for me. Thank you." She whispered. She had never said the polite refrain and meant it as much as she did now. "Thank you."

* * *

Kurama had returned to his human form the same day, intent on watching Dayne even as she spent the next two weeks trying to find a place to rent and talking to the insurance company about her house. She finally found a small house up for rent that she liked, in an almost-rural setting. There was a small flower garden surrounding two whole sides of it, all of them bright and blooming. Kurama was there when she signed the leasing documents.

There was a knock on the door. Dayne knew it wasn't Keiko or Sagaku, both of whom had left several hours ago after having a small girls-only housewarming party. Kuwabara, having already healed, had planned a day-trip with Hiei, Yusuke, and Kurama to go to the Spirit World and not only file the entire report of the events that happened with Dayne, but also to celebrate the wrap up of one of their longest "missions."

Dayne opened the door, her heart thumping nervously. Kurama was standing there, his green eyes calm and collected, his face tight and impassive. Dayne tried to suppress the shiver that ran down her back.

"May I come in?" Kurama requested. Despite having following her around for nearly an entire two weeks, he had refrained from touching her. He had refrained from even being within arm's length of her.

"Please," Dayne stepped aside, holding the door open for him. He stepped into the small rental, looking around as if he hadn't already seen it when she was looking for a new place to live. He jumped when her fingers skimmed down his hand, flowing gently between his fingers.

"Dayne," he murmured, trying to pull away as his fingers betrayed him, tightening around hers.

"You didn't scare me away." She had been trying to tell him for the last two weeks, but he had waved her protests aside, claiming she didn't have to be polite just to appease him. Dayne reached around him, locking the door.

"This is a bad idea." Kurama tried to tug away. "I'm a demon, you're human…he trailed off, shocked at Dayne's sly smirk.

"You don't know what I am. I learned a lot, when I worked with those souls." She tightened her fingers even more, refusing to let him try to slip away again.

"Like what?" They'd had similar talks plenty of times in the last few days and he wasn't changing his mind.

"What makes you think I'm human?" Dayne stepped closer to him, pleased to see he didn't move back, his green eyes narrowing at her.

"You are human." He pointed out.

"Nope. You can't get a feel on my spirit energy, and Hiei can't read my mind. I was human, back when this all started. What do you think happened when I went into the Chrysalis state? Do you really think I spent that entire time figuring out that Jonathan was scum?" Dayne's cheeks were tinted pink again as she thought back to her old friend.

"What are you then?" Kurama asked warily. He didn't think she was telling the truth, although if she was going to lie she would be absurdly polite, she wouldn't be teasing him.

"Go do more research on Nemuri Ippin if you don't believe me." She twisted her fingers up and silently asked a soul to comply with her. She didn't steal them or control them…they just followed her, and now she could fully sense them. A green strand flowed through her fingers fluidly. "Unless you can accept that I couldn't do this as a human."

Kurama stood blindly as the green strand faded away. His thoughts were going crazy. If she was a demon then he wouldn't have to leave her behind. If she was a demon, he wouldn't be tainting her. If she was a demon – his thoughts were cut short.

"Enough thinking." Her lips hovered at his chin, as high as she could reach. "Either you kiss me and prove you're not afraid, or you turn around and leave what you started." She breathed at him. He glanced backwards. The door was locked. Dayne let out a startled moan when his hands jerked her up, her feet leaving the floor as her lips met his lips. He finally understood as she smiled wickedly against his kiss. She was a demon – just as the small amount of heritage had transformed Yusuke, the small amount of heritage had transformed her as well.

Kurama stopped wondering about the semantics of a mostly-human transforming into a mostly-demon being as her legs wrapped around him, her warm body rubbing against him as she pulled herself tighter. He struggled to remember where the master bedroom was, moving swiftly and silently through the house except for the noises he made against her lips. He realized he was growling, heat flushing up to his cheeks in embarrassment. They fell to the bed, almost falling off the edge as she scrambled to stay on top of him.

"You're a demon, so start acting like one." She muttered, before diving for his lips again. For one of the first times since he had been reborn as Shuichi Minamino, Kurama was happy to comply with both sides of his nature.


End file.
